Forever Christmas Eve
by ShaViva
Summary: Lorne decides to make Jennifer a special gift in the lead up to Christmas, something that assumes an unintended significance when an off world mission takes an unexpected turn. Lorne/Keller ship.  Sequel to O' Christmas Tree.
1. December 1st

**Forever Christmas Eve**

Author: ShaViva

Rating: T+

Season: season 4, between Reunion and Doppelganger; assuming some weeks pass between these two episodes.

Summary: Lorne decides to make Jennifer a special gift in the lead up to Christmas, something that assumes an unintended significance when an off world mission takes an unexpected turn.

Classifications: Drama/Romance

Pairings: Evan Lorne/Jennifer Keller established ship

Key warnings: None really

Other warnings: Unbeta'd – errors minimized as best I can but some minor ones will probably creep in.

Spoilers for: General spoilers for SGA up to the beginning of season 4, and in particular Sunday, First Strike, Adrift, and Lifeline, as well as the season 2 episode Condemned.

Acknowledgements: I used Gateworld transcripts to check details here and there.

Disclaimer: I am unfortunately not associated in any way with the creators, owners, or producers of Stargate or any of its media franchises, which is obvious because one, SGA would still be on and two, Lorne would be there ALL the time! All publicly recognizable characters, settings, equipment, etc are the property of whoever owns them. Any original characters, plot, settings, and anything else I made up are the property of me, the author. No copyright infringement is intended.

Copyright (c) 2011 ShaViva

**Authors Note:**

This story came to me while I was listening to Train singing 'Marry Me' … so I'm issuing a big fluff alert. Probably should issue a Christmas cliché alert too - pretty sure I'll hit all the main ones before the story is done. It follows on from _O' Christmas Tree_, one of my Christmas stories from last year. I've crossed over a chapter of Equilibrium in here too.

I'm posting the first six chapters all at once so I can catch up on the date and post a chapter a day from now onwards (that will make sense once you start reading). Since the idea only occurred to me on Monday I've powered out these first chapters – I've already picked up some blunders, now averted, but wouldn't be surprised given how fast I had to write to catch up, that there could be further blunders, hopefully not major!

* * *

><p>"<em>It's something so magical, incomprehensible, yet it's so sensible, this you and me. <em>_Why can't it always be forever Christmas Eve?"_

_Lee Ann Womack, Forever Christmas Eve, from the album 'The Season for Romance'_

**December 1****st**

Christmas would always hold a special place in Evan Lorne's heart … Christmas trees and the traditions around Christmas in particular. It had always been an important time for his family – the Lorne's had traditions of their own and his Mom encouraged both her children to express themselves as part of those traditions. He'd always had fun with that but now the holiday season had taken on a new dimension of significance, and he had the city's former leader to thank for it. Without Elizabeth Weir's intervention last year – her "tree for all" – he'd never have discovered the _most_ important thing in this life.

Jennifer Keller.

Sometimes it felt like just yesterday when Evan had nervously turned up outside Jenn's door on Christmas Eve to escort her to the party. He remembered vividly the way she'd blushed at his compliment to her beauty even as her eyes had all but devoured his own 'fancy' dressed appearance. That night had been magical – he'd known the opportunity he'd been given and he'd seized it before something could come and take it away.

Other times it was hard to remember his life before Jennifer, as though she'd always been a part of it. They ate together as regularly as their schedules would allow, spent their off duty hours in one or the other of their quarters, or in the many special places around the city Evan had discovered in his time there. They comforted each other when things got tough, when they'd lost Carson and then before the belief that it was real had set in, Elizabeth as well.

Those wounds were still fresh, their losses similar even though most in the city wouldn't realise it. Carson had been a mentor for Jennifer, a source of wisdom, and a sounding board when she wanted a different opinion. She'd been devastated when he'd been killed – the hole left in her life one she'd probably never fill completely.

What most people didn't know was that Elizabeth Weir had been much the same for Evan. A friendship had almost been forced on them – too many hours and days spent worrying over the fate of Colonel Sheppard and his team for them not to find common ground. Elizabeth had a way of looking at things that Evan appreciated, a fresh perspective for a man who'd spent twenty years serving his country and a military that didn't reward individuality. She was impartial and reasoned and he still found it hard to believe she was gone. Harder to stomach that it had happened while he'd been away from the city, safe on the Apollo. That was a time he still refused to talk about, no matter how much Jennifer urged him to. No words would _ever_ make it all right that the woman he loved had faced mortal danger without him there to help, that she'd had to make some painfully tough choices and shoulder the responsibility for Elizabeth's fate while he'd been safe and sound half a galaxy away. He should have been there! He'd been reluctant to buck the system, to push the limits when his initial and subsequent requests to transfer back to Atlantis had been denied, and had paid a high price for that reluctance.

It had been the last time he'd seen his mentor and friend and he could only thank whatever deity looked over them all that it hadn't been the last time he'd seen Jennifer too.

When the issue of Christmas came up towards the middle of November – still only weeks since they'd landed on their new planet, Lorne had been the one to insist they get another tree. He'd been a lot more forceful and verbose than he was known for as he'd pointed out how much Elizabeth had loved the previous year's tree and how disappointed she'd be in them all if they didn't honour the tradition she'd tried to create. Not surprisingly Colonel Sheppard and Colonel Carter both agreed, the later promising to speak to General O'Neill personally to ensure delivery of a suitable tree this year.

So the tree tradition would continue for a second year … it would be sad to have that daily reminder that Elizabeth was gone but at the same time he knew he'd get a kick out of seeing the decorations slowly take over the foliage one day at a time. They all needed the lift it would give them, more so even than last year.

It would still be at least a couple of weeks before the tree would make an appearance – any sooner and it would be dead before Christmas Eve, _so_ not the message they wanted to create. Lorne had plans he needed to put into action much earlier than that. He'd done all the preparation he could, stealing an hour here and there when Jennifer was busy to create something he hoped she'd enjoy. He knew that she loved the Christmas season too and he'd tried to incorporate that into something uniquely them.

When the 1st of December rolled around it was almost a relief to excuse himself from Jennifer's quarters with a promise that he'd be back in a few minutes.

"Where are you going? Jennifer asked with a half-smile, not used to him being so secretive and mysterious, nor to him leaving so soon after he'd arrived.

"There's ah … something I need to go get," he said evasively.

"Why didn't you bring it with you?" Jennifer asked and logically he could have done that, assuming he didn't care who saw him along the way. Ordinarily he wouldn't but this was special … private, and he wanted to avoid questions if at all possible.

"Too busy in the corridors," he admitted, seeing the way her interest was piqued.

"Something for me?" Jennifer guessed, her expression going all soft and hopeful.

"Maybe," Evan couldn't resist bending low to where she sat on the couch, pressing a firm kiss to her lips. "Maybe not."

"Oh, you tease," Jennifer pushed him away with a laugh.

"I'll be five minutes, promise," Lorne insisted, running a hand over her hair before he made himself turn away. He double timed it, not to his quarters or his office, but to the storage room he'd been using to construct what was in all likelihood the most elaborate proposal ever delivered.

"You are going to look like the biggest fool alive if she says no," he muttered, picking up his creation, still draped with a folded sheet to keep it safe and free from prying eyes.

Back at Jennifer's room he used his gene to open the door without swiping the controls – something he rarely exercised even though it was relatively easy to accomplish.

"Evan?" Jennifer stood, making room for him as he approached the coffee table in front of the sofa and carefully set his parcel down.

"Wait," Evan took a deep breath – it didn't help steady the sudden nerves jumping in his stomach but it was a cue to begin. "Please, will you sit down?"

Jennifer frowned, her eyes locked to his as she slowly sank down on the couch in front of the mystery item. She glanced at it and then back to him. "Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Evan tried for a confident smile, covering up the shortfall by dropping to his knees beside her.

"You're nervous," she realised in a rush, flushing as she took in his bended knee position. "Oh my," she breathed out, her face flushing.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now," he began, the act of beginning settling something inside him. He was sure this course of action was right … it was as simple and as complex as that – and there was no point in being nervous about the outcome. "It occurred to me that the effort isn't in the asking. Anyone can say the words 'will you marry me', right?"

"Are you …," she trailed off, her eyes shining with tears, hopefully of the happy kind.

"I'm getting there," he smiled, putting his hands over hers where they rested, twisted tight, in her lap. "It's easy to ask the question – the challenge is in showing you why you should say yes. So, yeah, I'd like nothing better than for you to say yes you'll marry me Jennifer. It took me time to think out all the reasons why I'd say yes if you were asking me so I figure it's only fair you get the same chance before you have to answer."

She was speechless now, watching him, that heart and compassion he admitted and loved so much there in her eyes. Reaching behind him he removed the covering to reveal a model house – light blue with white trimmings, two storeys with lots of windows, doors, and a garden … all surrounded with the proverbial white picket fence. If you looked closer you'd see the interior was decorated too – bedrooms for children and a master suite upstairs, and a lounge room downstairs with a Christmas tree, wrapped presents underneath just waiting for Christmas morning.

"It's … beautiful," Jennifer intoned, her eyes now glued to the house. "Did you make this?" she looked at him with wonder.

"Yeah," he felt the first stirrings of embarrassment. He was comfortable with his creative side; comfortable with his softer, romantic side too, but having put both so much on the line he couldn't help but worry he'd lost face on the whole 'masculine, man in charge' front. "It's our house … figuratively I mean," he rushed to explain, "but it's more too. There's a message for every day between now and Christmas Eve … hopefully by then I'll have given you enough reasons to say yes, to do me the honour of escorting you to the Christmas party as my fiancé."

"You put so much effort into this Evan," Jennifer bent lower, her smile growing as all the tiny details grabbed her attention. "There are numbers," her fingers moved to trace the tiny figures on window frames and door arches.

"Wouldn't be much of an advent calendar without them," he pointed out, "and I was thinking _maybe_ you'd have a little fun trying to find some of them."

Jennifer nodded. She looked like she wanted to say something … he was prepared to hear just about anything. Instead she launched herself into his arms – he barely had time to brace himself against the couch to stop them both crashing into the table and destroying their miniature house.

Her lips felt warm and soft and they trembled with emotion as she pressed them to his. His emotions were running high too – they'd been intimate of course, from about three months into their relationship, but Lorne was always careful to treat Jennifer with delicacy and care. They had chemistry and passion but his respect and love were usually enough for him to balance his desire to ravage her with his need to cherish her too. Taking the plunge into marriage proposals stripped away a layer of control – Lorne felt that first touch of her lips deep inside with nothing to cushion it. He responded, devouring her mouth like a man parched after days in the desert without water. Carnal would be the only word to describe the heat and motion between them. Lorne wanted to rip Jennifer's clothes away and bury himself so deep inside her neither of them would be capable of distinguishing their individuality.

Maybe he'd have come to his senses if Jennifer hadn't been with him all the way. She gave as good as she got, her hands like hot feathers trailing over his skin, her body melded to his. He lost his head – somewhere at the back of his mind he knew he'd have to explain himself later, apologise for his behaviour, but he ignored that in the face of pure, unadulterated lust.

They rolled – he wanted her over him, her hair a curtain around them. When the roll produced a brief sensation of falling followed too quickly by the floor hammering his back, Jennifer's weight forcing the air from his lungs, Evan abruptly remembered that they were still on the couch.

"Ouch," he got out hoarsely, the mood broken.

"Oh God," Jennifer gasped, rearing up to look down at him. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," he didn't add that there were certain parts of him throbbing painfully, and not because they'd fallen. The mood might be broken but his body still wanted hers with a vengeance.

Jennifer scrambled to sit up, reaching down to pull Evan up beside her.

"I'm sorry Jenn," he apologised, shooting her a quick glance before looking away. What must she be thinking? He'd gone at her like she was a piece of particularly tasty meat and he was a hungry wolf.

"You took the brunt of the fall," she dismissed, running a hand down his back as though that alone would detect any damage done to his spine.

"Not about that," he felt compelled to pursue the issue. "I'm sorry I was so …," he struggled to find the right word, "needy."

"I'm not," she declared firmly.

"But I … I went at you like I …" he stopped when she covered his mouth with her hand. Her eyes were dark and there was something about her expression that made his heart beat faster.

"You always make me feel like a desirable woman Evan," Jennifer said. "But you're so careful too – I love that about you but sometimes I look at you and I just want to jump you and rip your clothes off. I thought I was the only one who felt like that."

"Then you're really going to like day 4," he murmured, bemused.

"Day 4?" Jennifer let herself be distracted by the advent house they'd both forgotten.

"Gotta get through days one to three first," he reminded her absently, his attention on the heat from her skin that still called him to action.

"I'll look for the first day later," she promised. Her expression shifted to purposeful and she gave him a look that made key parts of him twitch in response. "I don't know about you but I'm feeling that clothes ripping feeling again."

"Nice to have company," he teased, smiling even as he reached for her.

It got pretty serious from that point – he was less 'careful' and she was way more demanding and he wasn't sure he'd keep full possession of his mind if they did it like that every day – and it was perfect, just as every time with Jennifer was perfect.

* * *

><p>Jenn didn't remember the advent house until the early hours of the morning. Evan was asleep beside her, his naked back exposed by the low sheet draped over him and the moonlight traveling in from her window. She let herself be distracted by the play of muscles and skin on display, some part of her still enthralled by the idea that someone as hot as Evan Lorne would be with <em>her<em>. She wanted to touch him – only the knowledge that he had an early mission in the morning stopping her from disturbing his sleep.

The miniature house. Technically it was already December 2nd … but since she hadn't really slept yet by her rules it was still the first day of the month.

Grabbing her robe she pulled it on, tying the sash as she padded over to the couch. The house was lit by moonlight too, for all the world looking just like a real house. Evan was truly a talented artist, something that embarrassed him more than anything. The more effusive she was in her praise the more he'd retreat, holding up the modestly flag like it was his shield. Maybe it was – sharing his art was so much a sharing of his inner self too. She felt privileged that he would reveal that part of himself to her and so few others.

Somehow he'd tapped into every girlhood dream she'd ever had of the place she'd marry and raise a family from. The style of the little house was just as she'd imagined, Victorian with hints of colonial as well. It was blue too, and the picket fence seemed so cheerful and honest she wanted to dance around with the sheer joy of seeing it there.

Sitting down in front of the house she spent a good few minutes just admiring it before turning her attention to her specific task. He'd made the first day easy - the number one was carved above the front door. The little door held firmly – with a little tug Jennifer pulled it open, bending low to look inside. It was an entrance way, with a rug on the floor and a hat rack in the corner. A roll of paper about as tall as her little finger rested against the wall. Jennifer carefully removed it, closing the little door, before sitting back to look at her first prize.

What did Evan call it? Her first reason to say yes.

Not that she needed him to list reasons for her. She didn't need twenty five days to make up her mind either – twenty five seconds had been more than enough. Her blood had pumped with the need to shout that answer so the entire city could hear it.

Yes! Yes I'll marry you Evan Lorne!

It was the earnest expression on his face that both charmed her and stayed her declaration. He'd spent hours making his proposal something special for her … it was important to him that she take the time he'd allotted her to think about their future. Since twenty five days was a drop in the ocean of days she intended to give him, she'd decided to play along.

"So, what do we have for day one?" she murmured, unrolling the tiny scroll to reveal his decisive handwriting, slashed in black ink across the strip of paper.

"_I'll start simple: I love you Jennifer Keller._"

Jenn's eyes misted with tears and she glanced over at the man who'd changed her life. In sleep he looked peaceful, boyish. She felt drawn to him, just as she'd been from the first day she'd seen him striding into the infirmary. Her Lorne radar was still as powerful as it had been before she'd found the nerve last Christmas to take the first step towards what she wanted.

Remembering that time had more tears rising, enough that they spilled over, tracking twin paths down her cheeks. With an embarrassed chuckle she swiped them away, carefully rolling up her first reason and resecuring it. She had a small treasure box in her desk draw – quietly emptying out the contents she placed the scroll inside, replacing the lid and resting a hand over it for a moment before putting it away.

Softly she made her way back to the bed, back to Evan. Settling beside him she turned to watch him sleep. "I love you too," she whispered.


	2. December 2nd

**December 2****nd**

Evan left for his away mission to M5R-990 before Jennifer woke up the next morning. He'd left a note on his pillow, something he often did when he had to go while she was still sleeping.

"_Back tonight … try not to miss me too much. Oh, I noticed day 1 was gone … it was a good reason for saying yes, am I right? Evan._"

Smiling she shook her head at his teasing. She did miss him when he was off world – another facet of the Lorne radar was that she always felt off kilter if he wasn't in the city. She didn't have the gene, artificial or natural like Evan did, but maybe the city itself was aware when one of its sons was absent and she picked up on that.

"_Fanciful much?_" she thought ruefully. Folding Evan's note she slipped it into her bedside draw before glancing over at the time. "9 oclock!" She was late for her shift. Scrambling out of bed she hurried through her morning routine. At the door her eyes landed on the advent house. The temptation to look for day 2 was strong but she just couldn't spare the time. "_Tonight_," she thought, happy to have that small pleasure to look forward to.

She had no inkling that anything was wrong … even when Colonel Carter called her up to her office late in the day Jennifer didn't' suspect it was for something personal.

"Doctor Keller, please, have a seat," Sam invited.

Jennifer sat carefully near the edge of the sofa like one seater. It was the same set of comfy chairs and low table Elizabeth always used when she wanted to put someone at ease. Did Colonel Carter have a reason for wanting to put Jennifer at ease?

"Is something wrong?" she asked hesitantly, glancing away from other familiar touches the city's new leader had retained from the old to eye Colonel Carter warily.

"At this stage we don't know for sure," Sam replied. "Major Lorne's team dialled in right on time for their scheduled return – they sent through their IDC but before any of the team came through the wormhole shut down. When there was no further communication we attempted to dial in. The connection failed on that attempt and two subsequent attempts before we finally got a lock. Colonel Sheppard took his team to investigate but by the time they got there, there was no sign of the Major or his team."

"Evan's missing?" Jennifer struggled to get her head around the news. This must be what being ambushed felt like – an attack out of nowhere you were ill prepared for. She swallowed back the instinctive protest that Evan _couldn't_ be missing and told herself he was fine. John would find him and the others holed up in a cave somewhere, one of those made of some substance the radio signals couldn't penetrate through. They were always finding places like that, why not this time?

"I don't think we should make any assumptions at this stage," Colonel Carter advised gently. "When Colonel Sheppard radioed in his report he indicated there are a few places where it's possible Lorne and his team could have taken refuge, assuming something happened that forced them to retreat."

Jennifer nodded but it wasn't an agreement to anything. She didn't understand how Evan's team could have dialled in, sent their IDC, and then just disappeared. Had there been a fight? Was that why they'd run from the gate instead of coming through? They would have been so close though - surely closer to the gate and a return to Atlantis than any kind of refuge on the planet. "Colonel Sheppard told you I'd be worried, didn't he?" she asked, not sure how mortified she should feel about that.

"Colonel Sheppard requested I give you an update personally," Sam replied, nothing in her demeanour judging Jennifer. "I assumed it was because you and Major Lorne are particularly close?"

It was a question but not one she was being compelled to answer. That's why it surprised Jennifer when the words "he asked me to marry him" came out without her volition. She blushed. "Not something you need to know," she added, embarrassed.

"No," Sam agreed, smiling. "Major Lorne would have indicated his intentions to Colonel Sheppard and I imagine eventually John would have fed that up the line to me."

"He would?" Jennifer's brow rose in surprise. John knew Evan was going to ask her to marry him before she'd known herself?

"It's not regulation but most officers inform their commanding officers of events likely to alter their conditions or preferences of service," Sam explained. "That way we won't do something untoward like assign Major Lorne to an off world alpha site for months without considering his family circumstances. His entitlements change too – the military looks after its own and once you marry someone in the military, you become one of our own."

"Oh," Jennifer said, feeling stupid. It wasn't that she forgot Evan was a military man, just that she didn't feel the impact of that when it was just the two of them, away from the public eye. "Of course," she smiled weakly.

"So are congratulations in order then?" Sam queried, adding when Jennifer looked confused. "You said Major Lorne asked you to marry him, not that you were engaged."

"He wouldn't let me answer," Jennifer's lips trembled, her mind supplying flashes of possible outcomes that would have her regretting the delay. She should have told him yes when she had the chance. "Not until Christmas Day."

Sam smiled, clearly charmed by the romantic situation Jennifer presented. "Don't worry Doctor – we'll have the Major back long before then."

"You'll let me know if you hear anything?" Jennifer asked, standing, feeling unsure what she should do next.

"Of course," Sam said reassuringly. "Colonel Sheppard is due to check in again in an hour."

"All right," Jennifer nodded. "I'll just … I'll be in the infirmary." She gave Colonel Carter a half-hearted smile, wanting to stick close to the control room so she'd hear the report first hand. She couldn't do that though – the infirmary was her responsibility.

It was tough to work through the rest of the afternoon and on into the evening without hearing anything positive. Colonel Sheppard's team had checked in regularly, always reporting no signs of Major Lorne's team before they moved on to the next potential hiding place. As the evening progressed she began to fear she was facing a night without knowing Evan's situation. The uncertainty ate at her, the worry fuelling a headache that pulsed at the back of her eyes.

"Are you all right Doctor?"

Jennifer looked up from the file she'd been staring blindly at to see Marie looking at her with concern. "I'm fine," she said automatically.

"It's quiet tonight," Marie pointed out. "I'd be happy to cover the last hour of your shift."

"I -," Jennifer sighed, realising the nurse had a point. She was tired, distracted – not at her best. They had only one in-patient, recovering from a simple broken ankle they'd successfully pinned the day before. She wasn't needed there. "Thank you Marie," she said gratefully.

Instead of heading for her quarters, Jennifer went to see if Colonel Sheppard was back yet. Even though she didn't want the other team to have returned – that would mean it was too dark on M5R-990 for them to continue searching – she desperately wanted to talk to John herself. He'd tell her if there were any worrying signs, wouldn't he?

The light in Sheppard's office was on … Jennifer rushed through the doorway without knocking, noting that John didn't look surprised to see her.

"We didn't find them yet," John pre-empted her question. "But we didn't find anything alarming either."

"Then where are they?" Jennifer demanded.

"If I knew that I would have gone and got them already!" John shot back impatiently. Rubbing his face tiredly, he shook his head. "I'm sorry Doc … it's been a long, frustrating day."

"He didn't leave any clues?" Jennifer asked in a low tone.

"No," Sheppard said starkly. That was the kicker, the one worrying point. Evan Lorne was a very capable soldier and leader – very protective of what he considered his. If he'd had any kind of chance he'd have left something for the teams from Atlantis to find. The fact that he hadn't could mean nothing, but Jennifer feared the worse.

"He didn't leave anything to go on because he _couldn't_," she murmured, her eyes glittering with sudden tears.

"Don't go getting blubbery on me Doc," John protested, holding up his hands as if he could ward off a crying bout with will alone.

"I don't get blubbery!" Jennifer glared at him.

"That's right, you don't," Sheppard agreed, looking satisfied enough that Jennifer realised abruptly that he'd manipulated her by angering her tears away. "Look, we still have a few places to search," he said. "We'll head out at first light. In the meantime, there's no point in worrying."

"Maybe for you," Jennifer said sadly. "I don't see how I could _not_ worry – trying not to would be even more pointless."

"I know," John shook his head. "If you want something to take your mind off of this tonight, Teyla would love to have you join us – it's just movie night, whatever Rodney managed to snag for us on the last download."

"That's kind of you but I don't think I'd be good company."

"The offer's there if you change your mind," John didn't seem surprised at her refusal. She and Evan spent time with the other couple regularly, enough to feel they knew each other well enough to understand reactions in a situation like this. John and Teyla had their first date the previous Christmas Eve too, brought together by Elizabeth's tree – that created a special bond.

"Can I come with you tomorrow?" Jennifer asked hopefully.

"You know why that's not a good idea," Sheppard dismissed. "Besides, we find Lorne and he realises I brought you into an unknown and potentially dangerous situation and I'll have to do my own paperwork from now on."

"But if you find him and he needs me, you'll let me go?" Jennifer persisted.

"If needed," John agreed.

Jennifer took that as the best she was going to get. "I'll leave you to it then," she said, her mind on getting back to her room so she could start that worrying sooner rather than later.

"Hey Doc," John called her back.

"Yes?"

"Did Lorne ask you something ... important recently?"

Jennifer smiled at John's inept attempt to be cagey will still finding out what he wanted to know. "He did," she returned, knowing it would annoy him for her not to explain further.

"And?" John shot back, frowning.

"And I haven't answered yet," Jennifer admitted.

"Oh," Sheppard rubbed the back of his neck as he sussed her out. "I ah … I thought you guys were solid."

"As solid as you and Teyla?" Jennifer returned.

"Ah … yeah," John shifted, uncomfortable with the personal focus being turned on him. "I wouldn't have guessed you'd hesitate."

"And I didn't," Jennifer felt the need to take a deep, steadying breath, sure that every time someone asked her in the future she'd have the same rush of sick emotions before she could answer. "He wouldn't let me answer yet – he was determined I take plenty of time to think about all the reasons I should say yes."

"Now that sounds like Lorne," John smiled and Jennifer felt sudden guilt for suggesting John wouldn't be as worried as she was about Evan. They'd been CO and 2IC for more than two years and Jennifer knew they were friends as well. John took responsibility for everyone but it got very personal for him when it was one of his inner circle – Evan was very much a part of that.

"I wish I'd said yes anyway," she admitted.

"We'll find him tomorrow – you can say give him the right answer then," John said confidently.

"I hope so," Jennifer murmured, the two exchanging glances that were too full of concern for the other's liking.

* * *

><p>Back in her quarters the first thing Jennifer saw was her advent house … it made her sad that Evan wasn't there to see her reaction to day 2's message but at the same time sitting in front of the little structure and searching for the number two made her feel closer to him too. He'd meant her to have whatever the message said today, regardless of where he was. She couldn't still feel so connected to him if anything bad had happened – she had to hold on to the certainty of that.<p>

The second day was harder to find but eventually she spotted it … an ornate two carved into a snowflake pattern on one of the windows. The tiny scroll behind it looked the same as the previous day.

"_I'll always love you … whether you say yes or not, although obviously I'd prefer it if you do say yes."_

She laughed through her tears – that sounded so like Evan, so self-effacing, such a mix of confidence and modesty, competence and unpretentiousness.

"I'll always love you too," she said it aloud to give it power, imagining that she could send the thought out to the city and beyond. "You better be okay Evan Lorne or I'll never forgive you!"


	3. December 3rd

**December 3****rd**

After a poor night's sleep Jennifer greeted the new day with a heavy heart. The little house with its messages from Evan sat on the table, taking on an air of disappointment and reproach when she passed it without even considering looking for the third day's message. She ignored it ... there was nothing Evan could have written that would make her feel better.

It wasn't her usual practice but she went to the Gateroom to see Colonel Sheppard's team off. Teyla was already there, her posture and the serenity of her expression something Jennifer dearly wished to emulate.

"Jennifer," she greeted Jenn with mild surprise. "You are well?"

"Not really," Jennifer admitted. "I thought maybe I could change John's mind and come with you. I just … I feel like maybe Evan _did_ leave a clue but I'm the only one who would realise. I need to see where he was when they last contacted Atlantis."

"John will not approve your inclusion on the team," Teyla advised gently just as Ronon strode into the Gateroom to join his teammate.

"You coming along?" he asked Jennifer like it would be the most natural thing in the world for her to accompany them.

She wanted to hug him just for that alone. "I'd like to," she admitted.

"Jennifer wishes to see where Major Lorne's team was located prior to disappearing," Teyla explained.

"Look at the photos," Ronon suggested.

"Photos?"

"McKay took some," Ronon shrugged. "Said it was for further investigation."

"He will still be in his lab if you wish to speak to him before we leave," Teyla suggested; it was a well known fact that Rodney stayed in his lab until he was due in the Gateroom, more often than not waiting until Colonel Sheppard radioed and ordered him to get his butt to the gate before he'd leave his experiments behind.

"I will," Jennifer smiled. "Thank you."

"We'll find him," Ronon promised, his habitual confidence lifting her spirits. There was something about Ronon's approach to everything that made even the biggest problems seem manageable.

Nodding, Jennifer wished them well on the mission before hurrying away. She all but ran down the corridors, bursting into Rodney's lab moments later.

"Where's the fire?" he said testily without looking up at first, gulping back a further comment when he did and realised who his visitor was. "Oh, it's you," he said weakly.

"It's me," Jennifer repeated. "Ronon said you took photos yesterday, on M5R-990."

"And?" Rodney demanded impatiently.

"And I'd like to look at them," Jennifer said firmly.

"You think Lorne left a message just for you?" he asked incredulously.

Jennifer blushed at the implied criticism – even though a large part of her agreed that it was unlikely in the heat of the moment that Evan would have thought to communicate specifically with her. "It's possible," she said, sticking to her guns.

"But unlikely," Rodney said, not unkindly.

"Rodney, please," Jennifer begged.

"Fine," he swivelled in his seat, grabbing a data pad and offering it to her. "I uploaded all the pictures to the hard drive – there's some pattern recognition software on there as well. Radek's not totally useless – he should be able to help you if you want to do some actual scientific analysis instead of whatever random approach you're planning to take."

"Thank you Rodney," Jennifer said carefully, grateful for his help enough to ignore his naturally condescending approach. She took the laptop, intent on taking it back to her office immediately.

"Jennifer," Rodney waited for her to turn to look at him. "He'll be okay you know, Lorne I mean. He's ah … he's pretty smart, for a soldier."

"I know," Jennifer's smile was genuine as she regarded Rodney, marvelling again at his strange mix of caring and careless regard.

"Don't ah .. don't tell him I said that okay," Rodney added quickly.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jennifer reassured him.

"I hope you find something," Rodney gestured to the laptop she gripped tightly.

"I intend to," Jennifer made the promise – to herself and to Evan.

* * *

><p>It took longer than she liked – Rodney seemed to have walked over the entire planet with his finger permanently depressing the capture button. There were literally hundreds of shots, of the gate and surrounds, the trail leading away from the clearing, all the way to the village Evan's team had been visiting. The various caves Sheppard's team had already searched were there too, making for a mammoth task to look at every image individually.<p>

It was blind luck when she finally noticed something unusual – after so little sleep and the monotony of scrolling through image after image after image her eyelids had dropped, her head falling forward. She'd caught herself just before her forehead hit the screen, startled awake. That close to the monitor, the ground around the DHD was shown in vivid detail. Even with that it was subtle … what looked like the number 16 shaped out in darker rocks so that it was just visible. It was a message, one she understood immediately. She printed the image, shifting from foot to foot impatiently while she waited for the Ancient printer to spit out a copy.

Jumping up she ran to her quarters, dropping down to the floor beside the coffee table, eyes rapidly tracking over the advent house.

"Come on," she muttered, frustrated at not finding what she wanted immediately. It was obvious in the end, a small number 16 carved beside one of the chimneys. Lifting it she found the scroll inside, quickly unrolling it.

"_When things go wrong, when I have to make a choice that takes me away from you, even when it seems like hope is lost, don't give up. I will do whatever it takes to come back to you."_

"Oh thank god," she exclaimed. Grabbing the paper and the copy of Rodney's photo Jennifer hurried to Colonel Carter's office.

"He went somewhere, by choice," she announced as soon as Sam called for her to enter.

"Major Lorne?" Sam questioned.

"Yes," Jennifer said impatiently. "See, Rodney took a picture of the ground around the DHD. Evan left a message, something brief he knew I'd understand."

"It looks like a number," Sam suggested, squinting at the photo.

"It is, the number 16," Jennifer explained. "He wanted me to skip to that day in the advent calendar he made for me. This is the message he included for that day." Jennifer handed the small strip of paper to the Colonel, regretting the need to give up some of her privacy but knowing no one would take her word for it without all the evidence.

"When I have to make a choice that takes me away from you," Sam repeated, looking up to Jennifer, brow raised. "You think this means they left the planet through the Stargate, voluntarily?"

"Not exactly," Jennifer shook her head. "Evan would never go anywhere like that without reporting in first, unless he wasn't given the chance to contact us."

"You think they were coerced into it," Sam suggested, "that Major Lorne decided to go along with something as the lesser of two evils?"

"I think so," Jennifer said earnestly. "Trust me Colonel – I know Evan left that specific clue because he only had time for something very brief and he knew I'd understand the bigger message. The timing is too perfect for it to be anything else – he gave me the advent calendar the night before they left."

Colonel Carter sat quietly, thoughtfully, and then nodded. "Very well, I'll send Doctor Zelenka to retrieve as many gate addresses as he can from the DHD. It's a long shot but we might get lucky. I'll also advise Colonel Sheppard to question the locals about any non hostiles who've been there looking for help recently."

"Thank you Ma'am," Jennifer said gratefully.

"Call me Sam," Colonel Carter invited with a friendly smile. "You've done all you can do for the time being Doctor – why don't you get some rest? I'll update you as soon as we have word of any progress."

* * *

><p>"We didn't find anything new," Colonel Sheppard admitted. He'd hung around the infirmary after he and his team were finished with their post mission check-ups to give her an update himself. "Radek pulled about thirty addresses from the DHD – he's running through them to eliminate the ones we know are unlikely. We'll prioritize the rest and start sending out teams from tomorrow to search."<p>

"This is like when Lieutenant Ford kidnapped you, isn't it?" Jennifer said numbly.

"No," John insisted. "Ford was … hyped up on drugs and not thinking straight."

"But you still had to make the decision to play along," she pointed out. "You were gone for weeks!"

"Lorne isn't going to be gone for weeks," John shot back impatiently. "For whatever reason he saw the need to leave without letting us know. Now we'll search for his team, but in the mean time Lorne will be working to get home too, just like it says in his message. You need to trust him Doc."

"I _do_," Jennifer exclaimed.

"Well all right then," John said bracingly. "So we're good?"

"For now," Jennifer agreed.

"I understand how hard this is."

That was something Jennifer knew he, more than many people, _would_ understand. His drive to leave no one behind was fuelled by something personal from his past – even with the necessary access to his medical file, Jenn didn't know what exactly had happened, just that it had been bad enough to get him transferred to Antarctica.

"Come to the mess later, have dinner with my team," John continued. "Teyla will be worried about you so if you don't she'll just come knocking on your door later."

"Okay, thank you John," Jennifer said in a low tone.

Sheppard looked like he wanted to say more … not finding the words he wordlessly touched a hand to her shoulder before leaving her to her thoughts.

She knew the stats – the longer a person was missing, the less likely it was they'd be found unscathed, if at all. Evan and his team were coming up for day three – that feeling of time rushing towards the worst kind of fate made her feel sick and on the edge of tears.

When she found and opened door number three later that night, Evan's message sent her over the edge. Sobbing, she curled up on the couch, the scroll dropping from her fingers to roll under the couch.

"_I can't imagine my children being anything but a combination of the two of us – you and me. Say yes and we can get busy creating those kids as soon as you like …"_


	4. December 4th

**December 4****th**

Living is a state of limbo became a routine for Jennifer, too quickly. She'd get up after a restless unsatisfying sleep and eat breakfast in the mess hall so she could grill John on which teams were going where that day, all the while burying her fear that they'd have to pull the plug on searching for Evan if something wasn't found soon. Then she'd spend as many hours as she could in the infirmary. Her files had never been so organised, inventory was up to date and the annual stock take done as well – at this rate she'd run out of useful things to do within days.

In the evenings she'd eat with John's team again, picking at her meal because she was there for only one thing – news of Evan. As soon as she had the details on all the moves made to find her almost fiancé, she'd make her excuses and leave – being around people with their sympathetic looks and their offers of help irritated her. Not Teyla or Ronon or even Rodney of course – they knew better than to question how she was coping.

It was such a cliché – like a bad Christmas movie on the lifetime channel. She was cast as the woman forced to wait at home while her man – that was Evan's role – did everything he could to get home before Christmas, usually suffering all manner of disasters and missteps along the way. The big day was still a long way off but Jennifer couldn't help but worry that part of the cliché was locked in, that she'd have to wait until December 25th for Evan's return.

She missed him so much that it hurt to be in her quarters night after night without him. His quarters were no different – worse in some respects because she felt his presence so strongly it was a blow to turn expecting him to be there and find only darkness instead. She couldn't stay there – she'd visit, touch a personal item of his, a comb, a book, the picture of his sister on his night stand, then stand at his easel still covered over since that fateful Sunday. After only a few minutes she'd retreat back to her own room, intent on anything that would wear her out.

When she was at the stage of falling asleep where she sat, Jennifer would drag herself from the couch, stopping only to find the day's advent message before dropping wearily to the bed. She clung to each message because it was a piece of Evan and the future she was determined they'd have together.

Day 4's message made her blush bright red before she laughed, understanding why Evan said she'd like it.

"_I want you … every minute of every day. Now if you say yes that's not going to get better but being in a permanent state of arousal for your wife sounds so much more respectable, don't you think?"_

Three days … he'd been gone three days and yet it felt like much longer. "Come home," Jennifer begged into the quiet of her room. "Please Evan, come back to me."


	5. December 5th

**December 5****th**

"What's the plan today Sir?"

Lorne glanced over at Coughlin, the younger man's unfailing support and the implication that of course Evan would fix this was a pressure he didn't mind – it was his job to get them all back to Atlantis in one piece and it helped that his men didn't seem to have considered the 'what if' if he couldn't.

"More of the same Lieutenant," he told Nate, returning to his post beside their cell door. It wasn't exactly a cell as such – there were no bars on the windows and the door wasn't even locked, let along barred against their exit. They could leave whenever they wanted and walk around freely too. There'd be no point though – he'd made an agreement even though in hindsight that hadn't been one of his better decisions. As a consequence they were now the 'guests' of an unlikely host, on a mission to save an entire village of women, children and men whose struggle to survive the harsh conditions of the Pegasus galaxy was evident in their thin frames, tattered clothing, and general air of neediness. It hurt Evan's compassionate heart to look at them – how could he have said no when it was so obvious they needed help?

"The boys and I will continue the training then," Nate said.

"And I'll keep pushing for an agreement to bring in more help," Evan finished. How did he get them into this mess? Thinking back to day one of what was turning into a much longer away mission than anyone intended; Evan questioned his choices for the hundredth time.

* * *

><p><em>- Three days ago -<em>

"Are you going home this Christmas Sir?" Reed asked.

Team Lorne had just completed a successful trading mission with the people living closest to the gate on M5R-990. The Daedalus regular resupply missions gave Atlantis sufficient non-perishables but they still needed to bring in fresh supplies wherever possible. A mission to get agreement – the toing and froing involved in negotiating something both parties could agree to – wasn't Lorne's favourite kind of mission, but it was satisfying when it went as well as it had that day. Besides, these people were nice – they'd come back every six months to renegotiate and always treated the Atlantis team fairly and well. Lorne would be happy to come back soon, maybe bring Jennifer so she could run another clinic, give the villagers a leg up on getting through the upcoming winter.

"Not this year," Evan replied to Dan's question. He'd already approved leave for Coughlin and Chiang. Dan had taken his leave in the middle of the year – Christmas in July he'd called it, something his family did to allow some to attend who couldn't make it in December.

"Are we having an Atlantis tree this year?" Reed continued, as they cleared the trees and the Stargate came into view in front of them.

Aside from Evan himself, Lorne's team were all original expedition – they'd come in with Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard on day one and signed on to stay for as long as they could. It had been tough on them, losing their leader, although at least they'd been in the city when it happened.

"_Don't go there_," he reminded himself, pushing aside his ongoing resentment over riding it out safely on the Apollo. "Colonel Carter already spoke to General O'Neill," he told Reed. "They'll send the tree through a couple of weeks before Christmas Eve." It was a large concession on the General's part – to take Earth's only ZPM and use it for what could be seen as a frivolous purpose. "Better start working on those decorations now," he quipped, a half smile playing over his lips.

"Got plenty of time Sir," Dan shrugged.

Lorne grinned. "That's what I thought last year. Ended up hanging mine early on Christmas Eve."

They'd made it to the clearing where the Stargate and DHD were located. Lorne dialled the gate himself, eager to get back to Atlantis. Glancing at his watch he smiled. "Right on time."

"Sending IDC," Nate reported as soon as the wormhole was established.

Evan hadn't even taken a step away from the DHD when abruptly the wormhole disappeared. "What the hell?" he frowned, reaching forward to try dialling again.

"D-don't bother M-m-major Lorne," a voice from trees drew their attention. "It w-won't work."

"_Eldon?_" Lorne looked on incredulously as the familiar figure walked towards them. He looked a little different, more together, but still had that hesitant posture that suggested he wasn't sure of his place.

"Hello M-major Lorne," Eldon smiled, acting like they'd just stumbled across each other in a busy market or something.

"Not that we aren't happy to see you," Evan glanced at his men to see them all watching Eldon with varying degrees of bemusement, "but what are you doing here?"

"L-l-looking for you," Eldon said simply.

Evan hadn't lied, he _was_ glad to see Eldon again. The young man lived in Atlantis for a few months after they'd rescued him from Olesia's penal colony island - he'd been so wide eyed and uncertain Evan had taken him under his wing, seeing him settled into quarters and making sure he had people to talk to and help finding his way. When Eldon decided he didn't like living in the confines of a city in the middle of an ocean - something he'd been adamant he wanted when he'd first arrived in Atlantis – Evan had been supportive. His team were the ones assigned to accompany Eldon to a friendly planet still welcoming refugees from Wraith attacks elsewhere in the galaxy. They'd been eager for Eldon to settle with them once his genius with machinery became apparent but it was Lorne's decision to leave Eldon there when he'd requested it. Atlantis kept regular contact, provided assistance where they could, until they'd been forced to cut ties as part of the move to another planet. It was a tough decision to make, not informing many of their old contacts of their new location, but Colonel Carter felt it necessary until they could assure themselves the Asurans wouldn't easily find them through one of those alternative sources.

"How'd you find us?"

"I-I remembered your sh-schedule," Eldon explained. "Th-this is when you w-w-were due to return to M5R-990."

"Clever," Evan allowed. The other man had a photographic memory – it wasn't inconceivable he'd have been shown their off world schedule although it was more likely he'd hacked the system and looked himself. Eldon had a level of curiosity that seemed to drive him – he'd gotten himself into trouble more than once getting into places he then couldn't get out of. Lorne himself had rescued the younger man from the outskirts of the city a handful of times.

"You shut down the gate?" he demanded, his expression grim.

"Y-yes," Eldon owned up, a hint of defiance in his manner. Whatever his purpose it was clear he was committed to this course of action.

"Why?" Evan questioned bluntly.

"I need your help." It was the first thing Eldon said that wasn't stuttered out – said in a low, heartfelt tone it carried more power than if he'd shouted.

"And you couldn't just come out of the trees and ask?"

"I tried d-dialling Atlantis m-months ago," Eldon began.

"but it didn't' work," Evan finished, rubbing a hand to the back of his neck, guilt surfacing. "Listen, something happened and we had to move the city. We'd have gotten back in touch eventually but the higher ups decided to play it cautious to start. I'm sorry we weren't there for you when you needed us."

"It d-d-doesn't matter," Eldon rushed out. "I-I know h-how you do things. Th-th-the kind of help I need y-you c-can't give … not willingly."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that? Tell me what you need," Lorne kept his tone pleasant and easy going. "We'll dial Atlantis – I'm sure Colonel Carter will be glad to lend whatever assistance you require."

"Sh-she will give us weapons, teach us how to fight?" Eldon shot back. "Will she kill Torrell and his men?"

"Torrell?" Evan frowned. "What does he have to do with all this?"

"I-I'll tell you everything M-major, when we get to Olesia," Eldon moved towards the DHD.

"_Olesia_? Last time I checked you were living with the people on 723!" Lorne narrowed his eyes at Eldon, his frustration and impatience apparent.

"I h-had to n-n-know," Eldon stuttered.

"So the whole 'I can't live in the city anymore' thing was a ruse?" Lorne should have seen it – Eldon has been in love with everything to do with Atlantis until that day he'd requested the move – Evan should have realised how unlikely that was. Because while they'd happily found Eldon a new home, no way would they have assisted him to go back to Olesia.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Eldon looked down at the ground, guilt hovering over him like a cloud. He'd abused Lorne's goodwill but Evan couldn't hold it against him. In the same place the need to know the fate of his home planet would drive Lorne just as much.

"We're not going to Olesia," Lorne stated firmly, resting his hand on his P-90. No way would he actually use it on Eldon – but hopefully the kid wouldn't know that.

"P-please," Eldon begged. He looked around the clearing, visibly agitated; Lorne guessed because he knew the longer they hung around the more likely it was that Atlantis would dial in.

"No, I think we'll just chill here for a while," Evan smiled. "Colonel Sheppard will be happy to see you, Rodney too."

"N-no one will dial in," Eldon held up an odd looking machine, cobbled together from what looked like parts of an ancient device and the remnants of his GDO. "The gate won't w-work at all … not until you a-agree to c-come with me."

"Look, we'll send a team to Olesia, okay?" Lorne promised, sure he could convince Colonel Carter of the necessity. "Just let me check in with Atlantis first."

Eldon hesitated for a moment and then shook his head emphatically. "N-no … you- you- you're sneaky Major L-lorne. Th-this is the o-only way."

"Sneaky?" Lorne exchanged a glance with Coughlin, amused at that assessment. "Am I sneaky Lieutenant?"

"Only when the situation calls for it Sir," Nate replied briskly.

"Right," Evan said it blandly, his words nothing more than a way for him to buy some thinking time. Eldon was determined and at this point it didn't seem likely he'd change his mind. If they wanted to move forward they were going to have to do it in the direction Eldon wanted, for the time being. Once they were on Olesia Lorne might have a better chance of convincing Eldon to bring Atlantis into his solution.

"So why us then, if you're so worried we'll trick you?"

"N-not trick," Eldon seemed offended they'd think he had that opinion of them. "S-s-smart. We n-n-need that now. Y-you helped m-me Major L-lorne, when I f-first lived on A-Atlantis. You f-found me a n-new home and you d-didn't l-leave until you n-n-knew I'd be okay. I-I trust you."

"You _trust_ me?" Evan's brows rose sharply.

"Y-yes," Eldon said earnestly, his expression such a mix of hope and despair Evan had to look away.

The ground around the DHD was mostly gravel – a dull cream colour with a few darker pebbles showing through – as he looked at it an idea occurred to him, by no means as good as he'd like, but better than doing nothing. "Okay," he told Eldon abruptly, half his attention on the younger man, the rest on the ground beneath his feet. "We'll come with you but there are conditions."

"W-what conditions?"

"First, we're not your prisoners," Lorne said firmly. He kept the movement of his right boot to a minimum, carefully pushing pebbles across the surface, glancing down as little as possible while still making his message readable. "No restraints, no prison cells. We move around freely or it's no deal."

"Olesia no l-longer has a pr-pr-ison," Eldon revealed. "I-if you agree to h-help us, we-we'll work w-w-with you."

"Good," Evan said approvingly. "Second, we keep our weapons."

That one should cause Eldon to pause. Glancing down quickly, Evan widened his stance, accessing the last few darker pebbles nearby to complete his message. It was a long shot anyone would even notice it, even more of a long shot they'd show Jennifer and she would know what it meant. Since he didn't have any other options it was the best he could do.

"W-why?" Eldon frowned worriedly.

"From the sounds of it you have trouble of the armed variety," Lorne pointed out. "No way can I take my team into that kind of situation un-armed. You say you trust me – if that's true you know I wouldn't condone using our weapons against anyone undefended."

Eldon assessed Lorne for a few moments, reading the truth of his statements, and then gave a jerky nod.

"Last condition," Lorne nodded his head towards his team mates. "We stay together. No using my men to get me to do what you want. I'll assess your situation in good faith and then decide how best to help you."

"B-but-," Eldon began.

"I wasn't finished," Lorne said firmly. "You've gone to a lot of trouble to get my help Eldon. You should know that I won't be a puppet for you or anyone. If you're not going to listen to my recommendations there's no point in going any further."

"I n-need to b-be a part of this," Eldon stuttered.

"We won't shut you out," Lorne promised.

"Okay," Eldon seemed satisfied.

Evan briefly considered making reporting to Atlantis a condition too but knew he'd pushed Eldon as far as he could. It might not be apparent from his appearance but when Eldon dug in his heels he dug them in deep - Lorne could wait it out on 990 but that could take days and find them still no closer to a solution. "Then dial the gate," he stepped away from the DHD a small amount, covering some of his pebble message just in case Eldon noticed and realised what he'd done.

Eldon messed with his makeshift device and then started pressing buttons on the DHD. The gate burst into life, settling into watery stillness.

"M-major," he turned to Evan hesitantly, doubting when it came to the crux that the Atlantis team would actually go through with their agreement.

"Let's go," Lorne nodded to Coughlin to lead the way, Reed and Chiang following their team mate through the event horizon. "After you," he told Eldon.

"No. To-to-together," Eldon countered, some of his newer found confidence showing through.

Evan pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and with one backward glanced, stepped through to Olesia, Eldon at his side.

Olesia wasn't the place it had been when Lorne escorted Doctor Weir there just a few months after he'd first arrived in the Pegasus galaxy. Things were grim – Lorne and his team could see that straight up. The survivors lived on the island now in a makeshift village of sorts, an irony not lost on Evan. Access to the gate was crucial to their survival even if it could also be the source of their problems. It was a common theme – any one of a hundred worlds could bury their gate to stop Wraith darts coming through to cull – none did because they were too reliant on gate travel for escape and to find supplies when the Wraith destroyed their villages and their crops.

Olesia had one advantage – the Wraith had trashed their city so heavily, culling a large proportion of the population first, that it would be a while before they'd think to come back and see if there were survivors enough to make culling again worthwhile. Lorne found out later that parts of the city _were_ still standing after the Wraith attack – that enough of the people had survived to begin building a fairer community. Against all the odds Eldon's family had been one of those to survive – they'd welcomed Eldon back into the fold with open emotion. He'd found his place then – his brains and his ability to improvise a godsend to helping Olesia on the road back to something they could be proud of. That was until new problems had emerged to halt their progress.

Lorne let Eldon escort them to a small hut.

"Y-you can stay here," Eldon announced, opening the door to a dusty, primitive interior.

"Right, sure, this is _great_," Lorne quipped, glancing inside before turning back to Eldon. "So, you were going to explain Torrell."

"L-later," Eldon backed away. "Th-the village leaders w-will want to sp-speak to you f-first. I'll g-go and g-g-get them n-now." His stuttering was more pronounced and before Lorne could question why, Eldon had scampered off, leaving Evan and his team to their own devices.

"This is … different," Lorne glanced around, noting the surrounding huts all similar to theirs. The atmosphere was bleak … there were people around but none of them seemed to care about the four new arrivals in their midst.

"They look starved," Nate commented.

"They do," Lorne agreed grimly.

"What now Sir?" Like Evan, since they were there now, Nate wanted to do something.

"Take Jimmy back to the gate and see if you can dial out," Lorne ordered. "It's unlikely you can but we need to confirm it."

"And if we can't, what then?" Nate persisted.

"I left Colonel Sheppard a message back on 990," Lorne revealed in a low tone. "It might take a while for them to work it out and it won't lead them here directly but they'll know we're okay. It'll prompt the Colonel to strip all the last addresses from the DHD too."

"If they see Olesia in the list it'll stand out," Coughlin concluded.

"Hopefully," Evan agreed. "Like I said, it's a long shot. Eldon's device means they won't be able to dial in so we're looking at the Daedalus bringing them here."

"What was the message Sir?" Nate asked curiously.

"Sixteen," Lorne shrugged ruefully. "It was all I could think of – Jennifer will know what to do, assuming she sees it."

"Sixteen," Nate repeated, no better informed than before he'd asked.

"Don't worry about it Nate," Lorne slapped a hand to the other man's shoulder. "Go check out the gate. We'll work out a strategy once we know where we stand."

"Yes Sir," Nate motioned for Chiang to fall in beside him, the two men striding quickly back the way they'd come.

"What about me Sir?" Reed asked.

"Let's start talking to some of these people," Lorne suggested. "Find out what's been going on around here."

Reed nodded, moving to Evan's side as they approached the closest of the locals.

* * *

><p><em>- Present -<em>

What followed had explained Eldon's desperation. Torrell and a band of criminals – all the former residents of the island who'd _earned_ their place there in the past – came to the village every few weeks. They'd ransack the village, knock the people around, before demanding all the crops and supplies available, leaving little behind. The Olesian's were too weak, defenceless against the aggression of hardened criminals. They saw no other choice but to give in, to give Torrell what he wanted, even though it left them to work even harder for the basic necessities.

What made it tougher was that Torrell wasn't using the gate – if it had been that easy Eldon's device would already have fixed their problems. No, somehow Torrell had acquired one of Olesia's former security vessels – the kind that saved Colonel Sheppard's team when they'd first arrived. Eldon thought they must have come back through the gate after the survivors first moved to the island, hiding out until they could take one of the boats used to transport everyone and return to the city. From there it would have been easy enough to locate the security terminal and just dumb luck to find a ship intact. The weaponry was formidable – Eldon's ingenuity, while impressive, was no match and so far he'd been unable to find a way to disable Torrell's ship like he had the stargate.

"It's A Bug's Life," Reed commented at the time. "They're the ants, Eldon is Flik, and Torrell is the grasshopper bad guy."

"If that makes us the circle people I'm not going for that analogy Airman," Lorne drawled, amused. He and Reed shared a common bond, both being Uncles to children young enough to enjoy every Disney movie on the market. Lorne has seen that particular movie more than once … secretly he had to admit Reed was spot on. They wouldn't be building a fake bird to fool Torrell, but surely there was something else they could do to help.

The elders of the village hadn't said it but Lorne knew they were all thinking it. Atlantis was indirectly responsible for their troubles – Colonel Sheppard gave the order to send all the convicts through the gate and Lorne himself had dialled one of the alpha site back up planets. They'd sent the good with the bad, unable to distinguish between them, inadvertently giving real criminals their freedom. Lorne felt they owed the Olesians help now to fix the problem they'd created. Plus, if Torrell was terrorising this village in all likelihood it wasn't the only one – Lorne didn't know for sure but he'd be surprised in the Olesian security vessel didn't have space flight capability. Short range maybe but they'd be able to get to nearby planets. Helping Eldon could help other villages as well, assuming they could eliminate the problem Torrell presented.

The elders wanted Lorne to use the weapons they'd brought with them to neutralise Torrell – translated Lorne assumed that meant stake out the village and ambush the man and his crew when they attacked next. Of course he'd refused.

"There's a big difference between killing someone when you're under attack," he'd said sternly, "and killing because it's an easy solution. Torrell should pay for his crimes. I'm willing to help capture him and see that happens. Anything else is out of the question."

They'd argued the point all through the first day and into the next until Lorne's stubborn determination to give no ground finally made it through their thick skulls.

Now, after three days with the Olesians, an alternative plan was starting to take shape. Coughlin, with help from Reed and Chiang, was training every able bodied person in the village. Not to fight for the sake of it but for the confidence it would lend them. They had to stand up to Torrell, something they just weren't capable of without some guidance and skills. Nate was concentrating on hand-to-hand to start with. Eldon thought they'd have at least a couple of weeks before Torrell and his criminal crew were due back.

Evan's job was harder – four men wasn't enough against the small army Torrell commanded, even without the added complication of the Olesian ship. Eldon wasn't completely sure given the confusion that usually reigned when the former criminals of Olesia paid a visit, but thought at least thirty men came every visit. Lorne needed Colonel Sheppard and a full complement of marines to stand up against those odds. A couple of jumpers fully stocked with drones wouldn't go astray either. Every day he argued the need for outside help and every day he was knocked back.

Standing in the empty hut, wondering what angle he should take today, Evan spared a thought for the people back on Atlantis.

"_Time to bring in the calvary_," he thought ruefully, hoping to hell Jennifer had found his message. She'd still be worried but at least she wouldn't be thinking the worst. "Day 5 Jenn," he murmured, recalling his advent message vividly and smiling as he imagined her reading it.

"_There is no one more important to me than you._"


	6. December 6th

**December 6th**

"Olesia," Rodney announced as soon as Colonel Carter called the meeting to order. Jennifer sat beside Colonel Sheppard, quiet and just grateful she was being included in discussions on the progress with searching for Evan's team.

"Wasn't that destroyed two years ago?" John queried.

"Exactly," Rodney smiled triumphantly.

"Rodney," Sam said pointedly, her brow raised as she regarded her fellow physicist patiently.

"Oh, right," Rodney back tracked quickly. "As Sheppard just pointed out, as far as we know Olesia was destroyed two years ago by the Wraith. We saw the cruisers coming in ourselves and you can bet there was a hive ship in orbit too. The chances of anyone surviving the culling and subsequent leveling of the city are remote, and yet they must have. Why else would someone from M5R-990 go there?"

"Wait, Olesia was dialled from 990?" John sat forward abruptly, his interest sharpened.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Rodney looked around the table expectantly. "I found it in the second set of addresses we mined from the DHD yesterday, using a particularly brilliant subroutine I of course wrote myself." He smiled proudly.

"That's not a coincidence," Ronon spoke with authority, ignoring Rodney's habitual bragging.

"It does seem unlikely that such a connection would be a random occurrence," Teyla agreed.

"Eldon," John said wryly.

"Oh come on, you don't think this has anything to do with that little upstart, do you?" Rodney protested.

"He wasn't an upstart and as I recall, without him we'd all be dead!" John shot back.

"Who is Eldon?" Sam asked, looking from Rodney to John expectantly.

"A convict, wrongfully accused, who helped us escape a difficult situation a couple of years back," John explained. "Elizabeth gave him sanctuary here – he stayed six months or so before requesting we find him another place to live. At the time he said living a city in the middle of the ocean wasn't for him but now I'm wondering if that was just his way of getting back to Olesia without us knowing."

"I believe Major Lorne's team were the ones to escort Eldon to his new home," Teyla commented.

"He kept in touch for a while," John didn't state the obvious –that Eldon and his new people were one of the planets they'd cut off when they'd moved Atlantis. "There'd be no harm in checking out Olesia," he suggested, looking to Sam hopefully. They still had a handful of planets to check from the first twenty addresses Radek found initially but this lead sounded much more promising. "We could take a jumper, cloak as soon as we're through, just in case there are people there who turn out to be hostile."

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment before making a quick decision. "Go," she ordered.

John nodded, giving Jennifer an encouraging look before he hurried off, his team at his heels. Jennifer couldn't help but feel encouraged by the speed of action – if Colonel Carter thought it promising enough to send a team immediately, surely that mean something good.

"How are you holding up Doctor?" Sam asked.

Jennifer looked up, surprised to find the city leader still sitting at the meeting table. She'd assumed once John left so would the Colonel.

"I'm keeping busy," Jennifer replied in lieu of having to admit she didn't have a good answer for that question. By all accounts she was doing her job, and doing it well, but in her own mind the level of distraction she was suffering, her thoughts never far away from Evan, wasn't acceptable.

"How long have you and Major Lorne been seeing each other?"

Jennifer smiled. "Almost a year," she shared. "Actually it was Elizabeth's Christmas tree that brought us together."

"I've heard a lot about that tree," Sam replied. She didn't ask for more information but her demeanour and posture just invited Jennifer to share. Everyone else had been tiptoeing around her since Evan had disappeared, either that or they'd be too enthusiastic in expressing their belief that Lorne's team would be found soon. As a result Jennifer felt herself clamming up more and more as the days went on – the chance to talk about Evan without it being about their current situation was so welcome she all but burst into speech.

The whole story emerged – her pact with Teyla, the decoration she'd chosen, stumbling across Evan hanging his own ornaments and the subsequent invitation to the Christmas Eve party. "Part of me can't believe it's been a year already," she finished, giving Sam an embarrassed smile when she realised how long she'd been talking without interruption.

"And you're adding to that Christmas tradition this year," Sam pointed out. Jennifer looked for some sign that the Colonel was impatient with her ramblings but instead saw only a fellow female she found it surprisingly easy to talk to.

"I hope so," she said softly. She hesitated. "How did you know?"

"That you'd welcome the chance to talk about Major Lorne?" Sam queried. Jennifer nodded. "I've been there," Sam admitted. "A few years back someone I cared about was cut off from the SGC, for three months as it turned out. It was hard but more so because I dearly wanted to talk about him but for reasons I won't go into, I couldn't."

"He?" Jennifer boldly pushed for the identity of the Colonel's regard.

Sam smiled. "I can't say," she admitted.

"Oh," Jennifer frowned. "Of course … you don't have to worry that I'll mention anything, even what little you've said. Not that I'm saying you should tell me … just that I can keep a secret."

"I appreciate that Doctor," Sam replied sincerely.

"Jennifer, or Jenn if you prefer."

"Let's go and see what Colonel Sheppard's team find on Olesia," Sam invited, standing.

Jennifer followed as she led the way to the control room. Just enough time had passed for John's team to be ready to head out.

"Dial it up," John called from the Gateroom floor.

Chuck nodded, his fingers flying over the keys as he hit seven symbols in quick succession. The lights around the gate spun but when they should have stopped before the kawhoosh abruptly the gate shut down instead.

"Is there a problem?" Colonel Carter asked, moving to stand over Chuck's shoulder, her eyes on the readings on his screen.

"No Ma'am," Chuck replied. "It looks like a problem from the other end."

"Try again," Sam ordered.

Chuck redialled but the result was the same – they couldn't establish a connection to Olesia.

"Oh, that is _not_ good," Rodney muttered audibly.

"Let's adjourn back in the conference room," Sam ordered. "Keep trying to establish a connection," she told Chuck. Nodding, Chuck tapped out commands, setting up an automatic regular dial in to Olesia.

John handed his weapon off to one of the gateroom guards before jogging up the stairs, the rest of his team not far behind.

"He's there – I know it," Jennifer said as soon as everyone was sitting down again.

"That may very well be the case but there's a larger issue here as well," Sam agreed. "This is the second time this week we've been unable to connect to a previously accessible planet. If someone has the ability to shut down a specific stargate at will then it poses a threat beyond our need to find out people."

"We could take the Daedalus," Sheppard suggested.

"He's right," Rodney agreed. "At their usual speeds we could be there in three days – plus the remaining time for the Daedalus to get here."

"When is it due?" Jennifer asked.

"Three days," Sam revealed. "We could radio them when they get within range and request they increase speed to get here sooner."

"_Six_ days?" Jennifer gulped, flattened by the news. "Anything could happen to Evan's team before then!"

"It's the best we can do," John frowned, clearly not liking the math any better than Jennifer did.

"Look, there's no guarantee that's where they are," Rodney pointed out. "Admittedly it is suspicious that Olesia was dialled successfully from 990 five days ago but it could just be a gate malfunction. I don't think we should put all our eggs into this one basket."

"I agree," Sam said calmly. "We'll continue to send teams to the remaining addresses we got from the DHD."

"Lorne will be trying to get back here," Ronon rarely spoke up in group meetings unless he felt strongly about something.

"Assuming he's able to," Rodney sent Jennifer an apologetic look.

"Yes," Colonel Carter stood, signalling the end of the meeting. "Chuck will continue to try Olesia at regular intervals. He'll also contact the Daedalus as soon as it's in range. We'll talk again when there's something new to consider."

"Thank you Colonel," Jennifer knew it wasn't just for her what they were doing to find Evan and his team but she had to express her gratitude anyway.

* * *

><p>Begging off dinner despite Teyla's urging that she needed to eat, Jennifer made her way wearily back to her quarters. They hadn't established a connection to Olesia … and she was staring down the barrel of a six day wait before anyone could get there and begin searching for Evan. She wanted to be positive but the fear that Evan hadn't returned because he couldn't was growing every day. That and the fear that the future she'd expected to have was slowly slipping from her grasp, no matter how tightly she clung to her hope.<p>

On top of the five days she'd already waited the new delay dragged at her spirits, enough that not even the sight of her advent house could cheer her up. She dropped down in front of it, staring sightlessly for untold minutes before rousing herself. It felt like she was just going through the motions, searching for the number 6, opening the little side window, and taking out the small scroll of paper.

"_There is nothing more important to me than our future."_

"Oh God," Jennifer clutched the note to her chest, her breath coming in rapid gasps as she tried not to burst into tears. She'd cried enough already and tears weren't going to help Evan. It was just so … poignant, the way his daily notes seemed somehow in line with what she was going through. She'd worried for their future and low and behold he was reminding her that nothing was more important. How was it possible that she could feel so in tune with him when they were as far apart as they'd ever been?

"Six more days," she vowed, promising herself that she'd be positive until then.


	7. December 7th

**December 7****th**

Evan's efforts of the prior day hadn't yielded any results … Eldon's village elders were still adamant that Lorne and his team take down Torrell with only the tools they had with them. For a group of people who'd struggled to stand up to the criminals in any way at all, their insistence sounded like a hypocritical tall order as far as Lorne was concerned.

He needed Eldon to get involved but the young man had been strangely backward, despite his demands back on 990 that he needed to be a part of taking Torrell down. Lorne expected the kid to be more confident and purposeful in the village, because he'd learned a lot while living in Atlantis and the boost of his family welcoming him back with open arms surely would have added to that.

Half way through the sixth morning of their stay on Olesia, when Coughlin, Reed and Chiang were fully engaged training their three separate groups of locals, Lorne stood in the doorway of their hut, watching Eldon across the way. He had a pile of odds and ends and a few tools stretched out on a tattered rug, almost in the middle of the dirt path that passed for 'main street'. As far as Evan could tell the other man's chief purpose seemed to be showing off – there were three girls who looked to be around Eldon's age mending sheets directly across from him. They sat clustered on a log that passed as a bench – from his current distance Lorne couldn't tell which particular lady had claimed Eldon's interest.

Making his way casually over, he stopped a few paces away, amused when Eldon didn't notice him, so focussed was he on entertaining his audience. One of the girls kept glancing up at Eldon from under her lashes – the other two spent more time checking their friend's reactions to Eldon's show. She must be the one.

"So," Evan said loudly, even more amused when Eldon startled before glancing up at Lorne, a blush rushing over his face. "Come here often?"

"W-w-we have v-v-very f-few t-tools that aren't br-br-broken," Eldon rushed to say, his eyes shifting to check whether his girl was still watching.

"Right, and I suppose you're doing your repairs out here because there's more space," Lorne commented, a half smile crossing his face.

"Th-that's r-right," Eldon agreed. Grabbing each end of the blanket he hoisted all of his stuff up, slinging the make shift sack over his shoulder.

"You're done?" Lorne put disappointment into his voice. "And this was just getting good."

"I-I-I know w-what you're doing," Eldon muttered, sending his girl a longing kind of look before striding off in the other direction.

Lorne followed, keeping pace easily. "And what would that be?" he asked blandly.

"T-t-teasing me because y-you're still a-angry I f-forced you to c-come here," Eldon stated. He headed for his own hut but Lorne put a hand to his elbow, applying enough pressure to redirect the other man's path.

"We need to have a little chat," he told Eldon pleasantly.

"I-I h-have things t-to do," Eldon protested, stumbling as he tried to break away.

"You were just pretending to fix something to impress a girl!" Lorne shot back. "This looks good enough," he propelled Eldon behind one of the larger huts, currently unoccupied. "What makes you think I'm angry?"

"B-because I p-promised we'd l-listen to your ad-vice b-but we're n-n-not," Eldon replied, suddenly finding the ground beneath his scuffed shoes very interesting.

"No, your _elders_ aren't listening," Evan corrected irritably. "I think you listen just fine Eldon. You know exactly why we need to bring Atlantis in on this."

"Th-there's n-n-nothing I can d-do," Eldon protested.

"Bull," Lorne retorted. "Without you they have a gate anyone could step through. That's leverage Eldon, leverage I need you to use."

"Th-they won't l-listen to m-me," Eldon exclaimed. "I-I-I tried b-but they tr-treated me like a kid."

"Then we need to change that," Lorne said purposefully.

Eldon looked sick at the prospect of confronting those in charge in the village. Scanning their surrounds, Lorne noticed Eldon's crush walking across the field with her two friends. "Who is she?" he asked, nodded to where the girls were disappearing into the distance.

"Elana," Eldon breathed out the name like it was a prayer.

"Does she know you like her?"

"I-I-I …. No," Eldon stumbled to admit.

"But she motivates you to try hard," Lorne stated intently. "You want to impress her, show her what you can do. You want to protect her from Torrell and his men and anything else that threatens her. She's the reason for everything you've done to save Olesia from what Torrell is doing to it."

"H-how did you -?" Eldon looked at Lorne, startled at how accurately Evan had described his inner feelings.

"How did I know that's what you're thinking about Elana?" Lorne queried. When Eldon nodded, Lorne looked to the horizon, back in the direction of the gate, his expression turning wistful. It was day seven now … the only comfort he had as his absence continued was that at least Jennifer had the advent house to remind her how much he cared. Evan hoped like hell his daily reminders were helping her – if he'd known he'd end up stuck off world for a week and counting he probably wouldn't have started his 25 day long proposal – it was just as likely his notes were upsetting Jenn and that was a thought he couldn't afford to entertain.

Every day's message was ingrained into his brain – he'd spent hours refining and editing them, hours more writing them and hiding them in the miniature house. Memory serving him well he knew the current day's message by heart.

"_You are the reason. I know, sounds like a corny love song, but if anyone where to ask me why, no matter what the question was, the answer would be Jennifer."_

He hadn't exactly used it in talking to Eldon but the fact that he'd written that specific message brought the motivation a man could feel because of a woman into his mind.

"How did I know that's what you're thinking about Elana?" Lorne repeated. "Because I have a girl too, back in Atlantis," he told Eldon quietly, eyes still on the fastest way back to Jennifer. Putting hands to his hips he regarded Eldon intently. "More than just my girl Eldon. My _fiancé_ … almost. What do you think she's going through right now? What do you think she'd been _doing_ since you dragged us here?"

"W-worrying about you," Eldon muttered, almost too low for Lorne to hear.

"That's right," Lorne said grimly. "I want to protect her just as much as you want to Elana and right now you're standing between me and doing that."

"W-who?" Eldon stuttered.

"You remember Jennifer Keller?" Lorne asked.

"Sh-sh-she was always nice to me," Eldon commented. He looked at his feet again, thinking. When his shoulders straightened as he focussed back on Evan, Lorne knew he was finally getting somewhere. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'm planning to confront the elders again," Lorne smiled. "You're going to come with me and you're going to convince them to bring Atlantis in on this."

"Y-you want me to threaten th-them, don't you," Eldon grimaced, that sick look appearing again.

"In a manner of speaking," Evan put a hand on Eldon's shoulder and got the man moving towards where the elders usually congregated. The five men, literally the oldest people left on Olesia, seemed to do nothing more than sit and talk – all day. Lorne found it tried his patience and his ability to keep a lid on his irritation if he had to sit for more than an hour listening to them.

"I-I don't think I can d-do this," Eldon tried to dig his heels in but Lorne was blind to his protests. They needed action and if Eldon was serious about saving what was left of his people then he needed to play a part.

"You can do this," Lorne said firmly, making a beeline straight to his destination.

"Good morning Major," Privic, the head of the elders greeted Lorne pleasantly.

"Morning," Lorne drawled. Done with the presence that they were here willingly he pulled Eldon forward, all but shoving him in front of the five. "Tell them," he urged.

"M-Major L-lorne is right," Eldon rushed out. "They can't disable Torrell's vessel w-with the w-weapons they have."

"And what makes you the expert?" Privic seemed amused at Eldon's gumption, sharing a chuckle with his comrades.

"It was me who disabled the Stargate," Eldon suddenly sounded much surer of himself. "And I can undisable it too!"

"_Yeah, made a mistake laughing at him_," Lorne thought, silently applauding Eldon.

"Are you threatening us?" Privic demanded, angry.

"Yes, if you continue not listening," Eldon shot back. "W-what did we bring Major Lorne and his team here for?"

"To help us defeat Torrell and his gang."

"And why did we need help?" Eldon continued.

"Because we couldn't do it by ourselves," another of the five admitted, exchanging a meaningful glance with those nearest him.

"Exactly!" Eldon smiled triumphantly.

"But we no longer need to do it by ourselves." Privic nodded to something behind him. It happened fast – Lorne felt the press of a weapon against his spine, an arm wrapping around his neck tightly enough to cut off a worrying degree of air.

"Don't!" Eldon shouted.

"You will do nothing to fix the Stargate unless we say so," Privic ordered. "And you will claim Major Lorne's weapons and adapt them for our purposes. Given your success at making weapons from nothing during your first stay on this island I feel sure this is within your capabilities."

"I made an a-agreement," Eldon protested, almost crying he was so agitated. "I promised Major Lorne we wouldn't do this!"

"Then that's makes you an even bigger fool. Perhaps you should have checked with us first before being so presumptuous." Privic nodded to the man holding Lorne.

"Eldon," Lorne croaked out. "Run."

Before anything could happen, before Evan could see whether Eldon had done as he'd asked, a heavy object slammed down on his head and the world went dark.


	8. December 8th

**Author's Note:**

Thank you for all your lovely reviews for the first 7 chapters - glad you all like the advent house idea. I'll be sure to reply personally at the end of the story but until then you all know how much I appreciate your comments and interest in the story. Running late on day 8 (and 9 here!) so will post both now - unbeta'd and rushed so forgive any errors that slip in ... day 10 (although it is already Dec 10th here) will be along in my evening. Thanks for reading!

**December 8****th**

Returning to consciousness was a slow process … Evan became aware of the noises around him first. Atlantis had its own chorus of a sort, the hum of machinery and another sound on top of that, a kind of music made by the systems those with the gene could tap into. Evan awoke to those sounds every morning – they were familiar, expected. Waking without them had him frowning before he was fully conscious. Wincing as he noticed the ache at the back of his head, Lorne forced his eyes open, groaning when he remembered all at once where he was.

Olesia. In a different hut than the one his team had been assigned, after Privic had ambushed him from behind.

"Damn it," Lorne ground out, sitting up, a hand to the back of his head. It ached but thankfully the small amount of dried blood he found meant it was a minor wound in the whole scheme of things. Still, his head throbbed with every heart beat. He stumbled a little getting to his feet, his path not as straight and narrow as it should have been as he made his way to the door. This one had bars over the small window cut about head high on Evan and was very definitely locked.

"Y-you're a-awake," Eldon popped out of nowhere like a Jack-in-the-box, his face filling the small opening.

"Warn a guy you're there, would you!" Evan protested, glaring at his young friend. Although, after yesterday's events perhaps counting Eldon a friend was another one of those bad ideas.

"I'm s-sorry Major Lorne," Eldon hung his head, guilt reeking from him like a foul odour.

"Yeah, well, I guess it wasn't your fault Privic double crossed us," Lorne allowed. "Are Coughlin, Reed and Chang okay?"

"They're f-fine," Eldon stepped closer to the bars, lowering his voice. "Coughlin wanted to break you out immediately but I c-convinced him not to."

"And why was that exactly?" Lorne was glad Nate hadn't taken a stupid risk to get him free, but Eldon didn't need to know that. Maybe the other man wasn't behind Evan's current incarceration but he was still the reason Lorne and his team were on Olesia.

"B-because I have a plan," Eldon declared, keeping his voice low.

"You have a plan," Evan repeated dryly. "You didn't even know your elders had a jail!"

"I-I'm sorry about that," Eldon admitted. "Since Torrell and his m-men came here the elders have changed, especially Privic. W-we had so many hopes for a n-new Olesia."

"And then Torrell came along and ruined it," Lorne acknowledged, feeling some of that guilt himself again. If they hadn't freed all the convicts would Olesia have its current problems? "So, what does Privic want with me then?"

"I-I don't know for s-sure … he's worried I guess. Even if you help us get rid of Torrell what happens when the next ship comes along to cause trouble? His actions are wr-wrong Major Lorne but I u-understand them. My people a-aren't f-fighters. W-we don't know what to do when something like Torrell comes a-along."

It was the longest speech Evan could recall Eldon making, and while he understood where Eldon was coming from it didn't excuse Privic's actions. "You're saying Privic is looking at us as some kind of guarantee? He wants to keep us here to defend your village?"

"I-I believe so, yes."

"And I suppose the fact that we don't want to stay here is of no concern to him," Lorne said sarcastically.

Eldon cast a quick glance behind him and then leaned even closer. "Y-you're right Major Lorne."

"I like the sound of that," Lorne said blandly, "but what exactly am I right about?"

"We n-need help … fr-from Atlantis."

_Finally!_ Lorne eyed Eldon assessingly. "I take it you're willing to do something more than just agree with me."

"Y-yes," Eldon nodded emphatically. "L-later, a-after e-everyone's asleep, I'll g-go to the gate and a-ask for help."

"You don't have the address," Evan pointed out. Not only that, at this point in time Lorne didn't have authority to hand out that address. Colonel Carter approved all requests to let anyone in on their new location and so far it was a very small list.

"Y-you don't tr-trust me," Eldon looked away, his disappointment obvious.

"Look, it's not that I don't trust you, okay," Lorne protested. "The city barely survived a brutal attack. We lost a lot of people, including Doctor Weir," his voice hardened as he revealed something he'd been deliberately vague with Eldon on.

"Doctor Weir is …," Eldon hesitated, his eyes locking on Lorne's disbelievingly.

"Dead," Lorne finished bluntly. "I'm afraid so. I think you can see why we need to guard the city as much as we can."

Eldon nodded, eyes back on the ground. Lorne couldn't see but imagined the younger man was scuffing the dirt with his shoes, something habitual he did when he didn't know what to say. Elizabeth had been good to the young man - even though Eldon hadn't known her well Lorne still regretted the need to upset him with grim news.

"If you can find a way to take Coughlin with you tonight, he'll dial Atlantis," Lorne proposed in a low tone. It was skirting the edges of following Colonel Carter's orders … he was in the 'letter but not the spirit' territory, but did he have a choice?

"R-really?" Eldon asked hopefully.

Recalling the words he'd written for Jennifer's day 8 advent, Evan nodded.

"_I will always come for you … nothing would stand in my way. Yeah, even orders – never again will I put following orders ahead of getting back to your side when you need me._"

That and talking about Elizabeth hardened his resolve. "Bring Coughlin to see me later," he ordered. "I'll clear it."

"Th-thank you Major Lorne," Eldon gushed out, almost bouncing on the spot in his eagerness to get moving.

"Go," Evan motioned the younger man to action. "You know where to find me."

Eldon nodded, pausing only a moment before he rushed away. Lorne glanced around the sparse hut, letting out a weary sigh. December the 8th already and despite Eldon's plan he felt no closer to getting home than he had when they'd first arrived on Olesia. It was going to be another long day.


	9. December 9th

**December 9****th**

Day eight of Evan's absence dawned bright and sunny. Never had Jennifer been so at odds with the world around her. It was early even by her standards, barely dawn. Breaking with her habits the past few days, after dressing for her day she moved immediately to the advent house, finding the number nine after a brief search. Tucking the small scroll into a pocket Jenn left her room, her feet following the familiar path to Evan's balcony.

It wasn't really his balcony of course – Jennifer just thought of it as his, because she'd watched him paint there and because it was where she'd seen him in those months before they'd discovered each other. Spying Evan standing there was how she'd known he liked the sunrise … maybe he hadn't noticed her _just_ because she'd used that knowledge to choose the ornament she'd placed on the tree for him. The fact that she's known him that well _had_ helped bring them together … and the balcony would always be special to her as a result.

The doors whooshed open ahead of her, closing smoothly as she moved to the railing. The sea was calm, a grey blue so close to Evan's eyes it brought tears to her own.

"I miss you," she whispered, letting her tears fall without trying to suppress them.

The wind gusted suddenly, the fresh air cold against her cheeks rousing her. What was she doing, standing there feeling sorry for herself like the worst kind of drama queen? Crying because things weren't going her way. "_Pull yourself together_," she thought firmly. After checking the rest of the possible planets from the DHD on 990 and finding nothing, they had a fair idea where Evan and his team were situated. The Daedalus was less than a day away from Atlantis too - she just had to be patient. Besides, if she wanted Colonel Caldwell to approve her inclusion on the trip to Olesia she'd have to present a much more together front than she was right then.

Taking out Evan's latest message for her, Jennifer unrolled it, wondering what reason he'd give that day.

"_I'm better with you than I could ever be without you._"

"Oh Evan," Jennifer smiled fondly. She'd known he had a romantic side but never expected he'd be so eloquent in writing, nor know exactly the right things to appeal to the deepest parts of her heart. Even after a year there were still things to learn about each other, new things to cherish on top of the old. Rolling the small scrap of paper up, Jenn put it back in her pocket carefully, content with her thoughts.

She heard the unscheduled off world activation – someone was dialling in unexpectedly. Since that wasn't an unusual occurrence, day or night, Jennifer ignored it. Turning her attention back to the sea she let its calm serenity imbue her with a matching calm.

"Doc, Sheppard here. You awake?"

Tapping her earwig, Jennifer answered. "I'm here Colonel."

"Get yourself down to the conference room," John advised.

"Did something happen?" Jennifer asked hopefully, already moving.

"Yeah, we just got a call from Olesia."


	10. December 10th

**Author's Note:**

Thank you all for your reviews for this story - life and all the Christmas things I have to do has gotten on top of me and derailed my plans to add to this daily - very sorry for the huge delay. Probably shouldn't have started posting a story right now but the lure of Christmas fanfic was just too great. I'll do what I can to catch up but I'm not sure how quickly it'll go so thank you for your patience too, and again, sorry I've messed this one up not posting it every day as I'd planned.

Now, lets all pretend time travel is possible and that we've gone back 11 days ...

**December 10****th**

Lorne was on tender hooks for the remainder of the day and into the evening. It would frustrate anyone not knowing what was going on but with Evan's recent past, it was excruciating being stuck in a cell unable to help. Shades of past missions as well as the move of Atlantis lurked at the back of his mind to taunt him.

He'd spoken to Coughlin in the early afternoon, Eldon sneaking the other man in when the guards outside were changing shifts. The Olesian's might have got the drop on Lorne but they weren't exactly the most experienced of jailers. Despite the history of the island, or maybe because of it, the general population weren't militarily minded. The magistrate and his own forces had previously had all the expertise in that area and none of them survived the Wraith attack.

"You want us to break you out of here Sir?" Nate had queried before Lorne could speak.

"Not right now," Evan replied dryly. "We'll save that as a last resort. Since its Eldon's fault we're here I'm giving him the chance to redeem himself. Take him to the gate tonight – dial Atlantis and give them a sit rep."

"Do we want them to come and rescue us?" Nate queried.

"You mean, as opposed to providing reinforcements for the Torrell problem?" Lorne asked.

"Yes Sir."

"That's not my call," Lorne replied. "We have to take some responsibility for the situation though. I'm sure Colonel Sheppard will feel the same, if that _situation_ is brought to his attention in the right way."

"Understood Sir," Coughlin acknowledged, a hint of pleased smiled playing over his face.

"Reed and Chang will have to stay in the hut and cover for you if someone comes checking," Evan continued planning the night's mission, "so you won't have a lot of time for conversation."

"Is Eldon going to let Atlantis dial back in again?"

It was a good question – just because Eldon was letting his control of the gate go so they could call for help didn't mean he'd thought about how they'd organise for Atlantis to call back, assuming leaving the gate operational was out of the question. "You'll have to get a quick agreement from Colonel Carter – either they'll dial Olesia as soon as the gate shuts down this end or you'll have to take Eldon back there a second time, when they _are_ ready for whatever it is they're going to do."

"I'll make sure Eldon explains what he's done to the gate so they're aware that we're on a tight timeline here," Nate had promised.

Lorne had wished his team mate well and then settled back in his cell to begin the long process of waiting. Now, glancing at the time for the hundredth time, Evan began to believe the adage that a watched kettle never boils. Maybe it wasn't a good thing Privic hadn't removed his watch when they'd thrown him in here – Lorne was able to observe time passing too slowly for his liking.

The time he'd expected Nate to be back came and went with no sign of either Eldon or Nate. That didn't mean something had gone wrong – getting in to talk to him twice in one day might be harder to achieve than it seemed.

His accommodations grated on his nerves – pacing the enclosed space Evan realised just how small it was. He could fit the cell inside his quarters back on Atlantis twice over and still have room to spare. And that was just the standard crew room … if he and Jennifer got married then the regulations stipulated their entitlement to a bigger room. Smiling, Lorne thought back to the advent message he'd created, one of the more light hearted reason's he'd given Jenn, because he was pretty sure she had no idea what she'd be getting into marrying into the US military.

"_We'll get a bigger living space if we're married – it's in the rules. Plus the military would look after you if something happened to me … I need that Jenn, to know that you'll be okay no matter what, so please say yes._"

There was a serious edge to that message as well, because Evan wanted the legal bond so that Jennifer would be taken care of. She'd hate that he had plans for the worst happening – for him it provided a sense of security that he hoped they'd never have to fall back on.

With a clatter and the clinking of metal on metal his door was opened. Lorne held in a groan of dismay when Eldon was shoved into the room before the door was slammed shut again. "I take it things didn't go according to plan," he commented dryly.

"I-I-I'm sorry Major," Eldon had his chin all but buried into his chest he was so remorseful.

"What happened?" Lorne asked quietly. "Where's Lieutenant Coughlin?"

"The Lieutenant is okay – Privic returned him to the hut with the rest of your team," Eldon revealed.

"But _you_ they put in here," Lorne commented. "So, tell me what happened," he requested again.

"W-we dialled Atlantis," Eldon began. "Colonel Sh-sheppard was there. They were gl-glad you and your team were all alive and accounted for. Lieutenant Coughlin explained the s-situation and then answered their questions."

"But?" Lorne prompted when Eldon stopped.

"But they were unwilling to s-send in more teams without being assured of s-safety and a means of returning home," Eldon grimaced. "I tried to convince them I could get them home any time but since I couldn't send any of your team through they didn't seem to believe me."

"Coughlin wouldn't leave," Lorne nodded, knowing there'd be no way Nate would go back to Atlantis, not even to assure them the help they needed, not if there was any risk the rest of the team would pay the price for his freedom.

"N-no," Eldon agreed. "Before he could explain Pr-privic and his m-men arrived. He h-held the l-lieutenant at g-gun point until I sh-shut down the wormhole."

Just great! Lorne pursed his lips to keep the curses from spilling out. "They followed you," he said grimly, "either that or Privic had a look-out covering the gate." That seemed more likely, given Coughlin had been able to speak with Atlantis for a few minutes before Privic got there. Maybe the guy wasn't as non-strategic as Evan had been counting on.

"He w-was a-angry," Eldon stuttered, still agitated over the encounter. He looked like he was at the point of crying. "Th-they t-took my d-device M-major."

"Can he use it?" Lorne asked, his expression grim.

"Y-yes," Eldon admitted, shooting Evan a guilty look before he redirected his attention to the ground. "I-I had to sh-show him or or …"

"Or he'd hurt Coughlin," Lorne concluded, sure it hadn't been quite as simple as that. It was in Privic's interests to keep some measure of cooperation going or there'd be no point in keeping Lorne and his team. Clearly he'd decided threatening Lorne's men was the way to get Evan to cooperate and since it had worked on Eldon already he'd have no reason to stop.

Evan's options were narrowing the longer they were on Olesia … and he didn't rate his chances of convincing Privic to see reason. On the plus side Atlantis now had confirmation on their location … the Daedalus would be there soon and then Colonel Sheppard would plan their rescue. The distance wasn't great in the whole scheme of things but it would still take a few days for the ship to get to Olesia. Days he'd have to bide his time ... and do what he could from inside a jail cell.

"_Patience_," Evan thought. "_You're good at that, right?_" He was, but it didn't mean he had to like it!


	11. December 11th

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for your reviews for chapter 10 ... time to travel back to ten days ago now ... slowly catching up! Oh, and since I'm trying to do this quickly errors may have crept in so please excuse. Thanks.

**December 11****th**

"Evan wasn't there?" Jennifer tried to keep the disappointment from her tone but the sympathetic looks she was getting from everyone in the conference room suggested she hadn't been very successful.

"No, but Coughlin assured us the Major is fine," Sheppard told her in a firm tone. "Apparently he refused to go along with the village leaders 'crazy plan'," John air quoted the last part before going on, "and was jailed for his troubles."

"So he's in jail," Jennifer repeated in a low tone, trying to see a positive in that statement.

"Yeah, although from the sounds of it, it's not exactly Fort Knox," Sheppard smirked. "Coughlin was confident we can break Lorne out whenever we want."

"Yes, but we have to get there first," Rodney reminded them their most pressing problem was still an issue. "I can't believe Eldon of all people is behind us not being able to dial in – aside from the ancients themselves only the Goa'uld have that much control of the gate system, and Eldon's hardly in their league."

"How he's able to do something we can't is a subject we can discuss once we have the current situation resolved," Colonel Carter said briskly. "For now I think we need to discuss how we're going to get Lorne and his team back."

Rodney looked insulted at the suggestion that he couldn't control the gate system if he wanted to but a stern look from John stopped him from saying anything further.

"The Daedalus can get us into orbit," John reminded everyone. "We take a jumper and go in cloaked. From what Coughlin said their forces aren't exactly well armed. With the element of surprise we should be able to subdue any resistance without risking anyone's safety."

"But that is not what Major Lorne wants," Teyla said, her voice calm and even.

"Evan doesn't want to be rescued?" Jennifer challenged, disbelieving.

"Of course he does," John countered, sending Teyla a speaking look she returned with a regal arch of her brow. "He just thinks we should fix the problem Eldon abducted them for first."

"We _should_ fix it," Ronon's voice rumbled deeply as he glanced around the table. "Torrell is harassing Eldon's village because we set them free."

"It's hardly our fault what some criminal decides to do years down the track!" Rodney exclaimed.

"They'd have been culled by the Wraith if we hadn't helped them escape," Ronon shot back, glaring at his team mate.

Rodney looked set to protest just for the sake of it before the honourable streak he tried to hide reared up and had him nodding instead.

"From what I read in Doctor Weir's report you didn't have much choice," Colonel Carter noted. "The Magistrate was sending innocent people to the island along with the criminals."

"That's true," John agreed, "hence our deciding to free everyone and worry about it later."

Only they hadn't found the time to go back and check on the refuges from Olesia, just like they rarely found the time to follow up on most of the situations they stumbled into. Jennifer knew Evan had been a part of that mission and hence a part of the decision too. No wonder he wanted to fix things now!

"All right," Carter looked around the table before settling her glance on John. "We send your team with the Daedalus and beam you down to talk to Privic to offer our assistance, on the proviso that they let Major Lorne and his team go immediately. If they agree, you'll come up with a suitable plan to eliminate the problem Torrell poses."

"And if they don't agree?" Jennifer had to ask.

"Then the Daedalus beams both teams off the surface," Sam met Jennifer's eyes, confidence shining from hers. "Lieutenant Coughlin didn't mention anything that suggests their subcutaneous transmitters have been compromised. We'll be able to confirm from orbit the locations of all our people and monitor them the entire time Colonel Sheppard's team are there."

"I want to go too," Jennifer declared, her eyes pleading for Sam to agree without protest.

Carter hesitated, her eyes narrowed as she assessed Jennifer. "Very well," she said, a small smile playing over her lips when Jennifer almost bounced in excitement over the positive response. "The Daedalus will arrive in twelve hours – be ready to go as soon as she's in range."

Jennifer jumped up along with everyone, hurrying from the room to make her preparations. There wasn't much to do – Amanda Cole was more than capable of keeping things running in Jenn's absence. After the briefest of briefings on her current cases that might need attention while she was gone, Jennifer had nothing left to do but wait for those ten hours to pass by.

They weren't what was bothering her though … no, it was the _three days_ they'd have to spend on the Daedalus, time when anything could be happening to Evan. Days when he'd be locked up in some kind of primitive jail. He'd hate that! It bothered her, knowing that, and she hated that every time she thought of him now it would be imaging him stuck in a tiny cell light years away. There must be something they could do!

Muttering an excuse to Amanda, Jennifer hurried from the infirmary, heading straight to Rodney's lab.

"You have to break Eldon's hold on the Stargate," she declared as soon as she strode in and found him alone.

"Oh, well, now that it's you who's asking, sure, no problem!" Rodney shot back sarcastically.

"Rodney," Jennifer pleaded. "It'll take three days to get to Olesia … with the gate we could be there right now!"

"I know that!" Rodney said irritably. "Don't you think I haven't already tried to work out what Eldon did? The Stargate is incredibly complicated – there are thousands of lines of code just for the navigation systems alone and almost as many ways it could go wrong. Without seeing this device in action it'll take years to run through all the possibilities."

"So you can't do it?" Jennifer swallowed back the sudden urge to cry.

"No," Rodney replied starkly. "Look, I understand that this is difficult … for you I mean. If there was something I could do to speed things up I'd have already done it." Flushing abruptly he backpedalled. "For anyone – I'd do the same for _anyone_ because that's what I do … it's my job … to fix things." He stopped, giving her a pained look before directing his attention back to his laptop.

"I know and I'm sorry," Jennifer apologised. "I just hate the idea of Evan being stuck in jail for three days."

"He's a soldier," Rodney commented. "Aren't they trained for that kind of thing?"

He had a point. Jennifer nodded. "I guess so … and you're right, this is more my problem than it is Evan's. Maybe they should have some training for spouses – how to handle stuff like this."

"Spouses?" Rodney zeroed in on that one word, his expression too carefully unconcerned.

"Oh," Jenn blushed. "Um … future spouses would be more accurate, I guess."

"So you and Lorne are tying the knot?" Rodney asked.

"That's the plan," Jennifer smiled. "I should let you get back to work … thanks for listening Rodney."

"You're welcome," Rodney looked suddenly bleak.

"Are you … is everything okay?" Jennifer frowned.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Rodney's smile was forced, the jovial tone at odds with his usual demeanour. "I'll keep thinking about the gate situation – if I come up with something you'll be the second person to know ... or maybe the third, after Sheppard and Colonel Carter."

"Thank you Rodney," Jennifer said softly, concerned for her friend but not sure how to help him.

He nodded, turning back to his computer without another word. Jenn watched him for a few moments before taking her leave.

It was late the same day, just before she was set to leave for the Daedalus, that the conversation with Rodney came back to her, taking on a different meaning. She'd decided to read Evan's advent message for the next day before she left. At first she'd been undecided what to do about the time she'd be away from the city. She couldn't take the advent house with her but something in her refused to ruin Evan's proposal by not reading his messages on the days he'd intended them to be read. In the end she'd decided to find the next three messages too and leave them rolled up until it was time to read them. Tucking them carefully into the side pocket of her medical bag, she eyed the message for the following day before quickly unrolling it. Once she'd read it, Jenn almost wished she'd left that one for tomorrow too.

"_McKay will finally stop hoping that you'll see the light and dump me for him."_

"God I hope you're wrong about that," Jennifer muttered, although Rodney's reaction to her slip about the future with Evan suggested he was more likely right. How had she missed that Rodney McKay had a crush on her? And what could she do to make it better for him? She knew Evan would urge her to let it go – crushes seemed serious at the time but were rarely truly damaging. Rodney would get over it and they'd continue to be friends. Jenn didn't want to do that though because although Rodney was often irritable and impatient, he was very rarely sad. No, what she needed was someone else to attract Rodney's attentions.

Amanda had always been one of the few medical staff who'd never complained about having to deal with Rodney … she'd gotten on well with the scientist for years, more so even than Jenn. "I wonder," Jennifer mused, making a mental note to herself to have a chat with her friend as soon as possible. For now she had to get to the Gateroom - it was time to begin the trip to Olesia.


	12. December 12th

**Author's Note:**

Opening the door in the time machine to nine days ago now ... we're getting there! Same note re potential errors - hopefully I caught most of them. Thanks for reading :)

**December 12****th**

Being transported from Atlantis was an instance of nothingness for Jennifer. It felt good when her vision cleared to find herself standing on the bridge of the Daedalus. Finally she was doing _something_ to help get Evan back.

"Colonel, welcome aboard," Colonel Caldwell greeted them, directing his words to John. Jennifer tried not to read too much into his tone even though it sounded like he was somewhat put out at having his arrival to Atlantis hijacked as soon as they'd made orbit. Colonel Carter had spoken to the Daedalus commander as soon as they'd been in range of course, and they'd taken some time to discuss the situation on Olesia before leaving. She was just being silly - of course Colonel Caldwell would be just as eager as anyone else to rescue their people.

"Thank you Sir," John replied.

"We've assigned quarters for the duration," Caldwell continued. "Given the time difference I'm assuming you'll all want to get some sleep."

It had been a long day and Jennifer was more than ready for it to be done. Gratefully following the young airman Colonel Caldwell assigned to escort her, Jennifer barely took in her surroundings. She hadn't been on the Daedalus since her trip to Atlantis and it brought back memories to be there again.

"Ma'am," the young airman motioned respectfully to her door once they arrived.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully.

"The mess is just down this hall," the airman added helpfully. "We weren't able to fully unload supplies for Atlantis but we did beam down essentials – including mail. We took the liberty of locating anything for Colonel Sheppard's team and yourself first Ma'am. Yours is on the desk in your quarters."

"Oh," Jennifer nodded. "Well, thank you again."

"You're welcome Ma'am," the young man nodded respectfully before taking his leave.

Jenn walked into the small room, looking around for a moment before the lure of bed and a chance to switch off her mind drew her forward. She'd read her mail tomorrow.

* * *

><p>After starting her day by reading Evan's twelfth message and her mail, Jennifer was struck again with how uncanny it was that each day's advent so closely followed her thoughts or the events going on around her. If she didn't know better she'd think somehow that Evan was psychic – that he'd known in advance they'd be separated and his messages had been his way of helping her get through the separation.<p>

That was crazy thinking though … laughing at herself she imagined how different things would have been if they'd both been back in Atlantis, reading each day's messages together. Probably at the end of each day they'd sit on the couch in her quarters. Evan would watch in that quiet way of his as she searched for the right number, and then put his arm around her as she settled against his chest to read what he'd written for her. It would be warm and romantic and a good deal more light hearted than reading them alone had been.

For today's message she'd have teased him by being outwardly remonstrative while being secretly touched by his old fashioned sentiments. She reread the message again, a sweet smile crossing over her face as it had the first time she'd read it.

"_If I thought you'd take it the right way I'd go the whole road and ask for your hand in marriage from your Dad (from Carson too if he were here). It's not a reason to say Yes as such but … I'd like to think they'd both approve."_

How could Evan have known that she'd have a letter from her Dad to read the very same day? Of course the letter wasn't about Evan's proposal - her Dad would have written it weeks ago. She'd emailed Tom Keller full of joy and excitement as soon as she could, the message part of the regular update to the SGC a few days later. Her father knew she was marrying Evan as soon as she could arrange it, but since the Daedalus was already on its way by then and they'd left Atlantis before the next check-in, she'd have to wait to get her Dad's reaction to the news.

Instead Tom Keller had written about general events and responded to questions she'd asked in her prior letter. He'd finished as he usually did with some words of hope.

"_I hope you're looking after Evan just as I know he'll be looking after you. I know I've said it before honey but it does my heart good to know that you have someone so capable watching out for you. I've never gotten used to the secrecy – I still stumble every time I have to tell someone asking after you that I don't know where you are. I don't say that to bring forth any guilt, you know that. I say it because you'll appreciate even more that your absence and the distance has been easier on me since you've had Evan Lorne in your life, because I don't worry about you the same way anymore. Evan loves you, anyone can see that, and you love him too. You're happy, wherever you are, with him … I saw that so clearly when you visited your old Dad last July. I hope it won't be long until you can come back and visit again. _

_I don't worry like I used to but I do still miss you … every day._

_Love Dad._"

She'd introduced the two most important men in her life to each other about six months after her first date with Evan, taking advantage of a rare few weeks leave when they could go back to Earth together.

Evan and Tom Keller had hit it off as well as she'd dared hope and the last small kernel of unwanted space inside her had been filled. Her family had always been her Dad – they were closer because it had been just the two of them for a long time. Evan understood that because he had the same kind of relationship with his Mom, for very similar reasons. When she'd met his Mom on that same trip home she'd felt an instant connection to Grace Lorne too, seeing so much of Evan's demeanour and personality in the woman who'd raised him. She knew many people complained about their 'in-laws' – for form or with reason – but there was no way either she or Evan would ever speak with anything but respect and genuine regard for theirs. That made her doubly lucky, to have Evan and to have found something more in the family that came with him.

That bond of history was just another reason why they were so perfect for each other. It made it easy to add to her small family for the first time, to include Evan into the space that had previously been just her and her Dad, as though he'd always been a part of it.

Smiling, she carefully folded away her Dad's letter and Evan's advent message, determined she'd do as her Dad hoped. Somehow she'd find a way to look after Evan, even if all she could do right then was pray for his safety and for an uneventful journey to Olesia.


	13. December 13th

**Author's Note**

Time machine now stopping eight days ago ... last stop for today I think :) I should have said when I posted the first of today's chapters that I do actually have a plan for this for each chapter with all the advents written as well, so not quite making it up off the top of my head! Sorry for any errors ... thanks for reading.

**December 13****th**

It hadn't taken Jennifer long to realise she'd go nuts without something constructive to do. Three days in a confined space would feel like a lot longer if she spent all of it sitting in her quarters or the Mess worrying about Evan. Since she wasn't military and knew nothing about the Daedalus, the Asgard, or anything useful to running the ship, she ended up in the ship's infirmary a few hours into the first day on board.

The small facility was run very competently by Doctor Brian Clark – he didn't need another doctor assisting, especially not one looking for a distraction to take her mind off personal troubles. Jennifer was therefore beyond grateful that he'd barely blinked an eye when she'd all but begged him for something – _anything_ – to do. The independent assessment of inventory and patient files he'd assigned her was interesting enough to be absorbing while still leaving some mental space to think when she felt the need.

Late in her second day on board the Daedalus she was still in the infirmary, ignoring Brian's comment that she didn't need to finish everything in three days. She'd already read and laughed over Evan's advent message for that day, unable to help the smile that came whenever his words floated to the surface of her thoughts.

"_Number 13 on a list would be considered unlucky except there could never be anything unlucky in my life if you say yes."_

Who knew Evan Lorne could be so charming? Well, _she_ knew of course – she'd spent a year getting to know the man – and yet he still continued to surprise her.

"Doc?"

Jennifer looked up to see John Sheppard standing in the doorway. He'd become involved in the internal workings on the Daedalus and she hadn't spent a great deal of time with him since they'd arrived. The others either – everyone finding something useful to do since it seemed none of them were capable of just sitting back with their feet up to enjoy the journey. Aside from meal times most of Jennifer's time had been solitary but not in a way that added to her troubles.

"Colonel," she smiled, straightening as he approached. "Okay, I'm not liking your expression. Did something happen?"

"No … well yes, but nothing as bad as I can see you're starting to think," John replied. "We picked up a convoy of Wraith Hive ships – they're smack in the middle of our path to Olesia."

"And?"

"And we have to divert around them, outside of their sensor range," Sheppard continued.

"How long will that take?" Jennifer frowned, her shoulders slumping.

"It'll add a day to our trip," John admitted. "We'll do what we can to get some of that time back but …,"

"But Evan and the others will be stuck on Olesia for another day," Jennifer concluded glumly.

"We can't risk being detected by the Wraith, not with the Asuran directive to destroy them," John reminded her unnecessarily. "That many Wraith in one place is sure to attract the replicators, sooner or later."

"And knowing our luck it'll be five minutes after we get there," Jennifer tried to joke. "I understand Colonel. Evan wouldn't want us to risk anyone's safety to get there faster."

"Exactly," John smiled, pleased to have gotten through delivering bad news relatively unscathed. "You keeping busy?" he asked, glancing around the infirmary curiously.

"Annual audit," she offered, smiling slightly when he winced. "Always much more fun when you're the one doing the audit instead of being audited."

"Well … sounds interesting," he said with a lack of sincerity that would have had her laughing in better times. "I'll ah … I'll leave you to it. We'll see you in an hour or so for dinner?"

"I'll be there," Jennifer agreed.

John nodded, turning and making his way back to the door.

"John," Jennifer called out. "Thanks for telling me personally," she said when he turned back to look at her.

"No problem," he replied, throwing her a casual half salute before disappearing out the door.

Shaking her head, Jennifer sighed. "_You do know how to predict them_," she thought, deciding this habit of Evan's of tapping into daily events had to stop, especially when it revolved around bad luck. "How about an advent on how you enjoy every minute we spend together?" she muttered, sure that if there was one like that it would be the first one that _didn't_ come true.

With another sigh she pushed the addition of more time until she saw Evan again to the back of her mind. He was okay – she clung to that thought above all others, sure that if he wasn't, somehow she'd know.


	14. December 14th

**December 14****th**

Three days! Lorne had been stuck in jail with Eldon for _three_ days! By his calculations that meant someone from Atlantis should be arriving soon, although exactly when he could expect that rescue was a little fuzzy.

Sharing a cell with someone would never be on his list of things to enjoy – it was the kind of thing he'd been trained to endure, or maybe it was more that a person who'd sign his life over to the military was also the kind of person who could handle the conditions a small enclosed space forced on him.

Coughlin dug his heels in with Privic as much as Lorne had – in a show of some kind of faith or a convoluted attempt to manipulate them Privic had responded by letting Lorne and Eldon out of the cell twice a day. Once for a heavily escorted walk around the village to stretch their legs and once in the evenings to wash in the nearby river. Those outings made things much more comfortable and allowed Evan to check on his team regularly. Privic didn't let him actually talk to his men but they always made sure to be hovering outside their hut when Eldon and Lorne walked by. A few discrete hand signals and Lorne knew none of them were under immediate threat.

Those three days had given Evan a lot more time to talk to Eldon too – the younger man had relaxed in Evan's company to the point he hardly stuttered anymore. It was a different story when Privic came to talk to them – then he could barely string three words together without one of them stumbling out unevenly.

"I think even Rodney would be impressed with your gate stopping device," he commented to Eldon early on the fourth day of their joint incarceration. "Not that he'd admit it of course."

"No," Eldon smiled, looking down for a moment before speaking in a low tone. "It was an accident."

"What was?"

"My gate stopping device, it was an accident," Eldon admitted. "You know better than most people that Olesia wasn't as advanced as where you come from. The Ancestors always fascinated me – I read everything I could on them while I lived in Atlantis. Once I got back here I just kept studying."

"And the only thing Ancient around here is the Stargate," Lorne concluded. "How exactly does this device of yours work?" Evan wasn't confident he'd understand Eldon if the younger man started to get too into the geek speak but he knew Rodney and Colonel Carter would both appreciate whatever intel he could collect. The ability to lock out a Stargate was a power they didn't want getting into the wrong hands.

"When the penal colony was here, aside from creating explosives for him, Torrell was always on at me to fix the dialling device so that we could leave." Eldon explained. "I could never get him to see that without the control crystal it wasn't possible. I'd already spent hours trying to understand how dialling worked so I just continued – with the control crystal installed I could experiment."

"One of those experiments went wrong?" Evan queried.

"Y-yes," Eldon flushed. "At first I thought I'd broken the Stargate completely – I couldn't get it to dial anywhere. The system won't let you dial out if a wormhole is active – a side effect of my experiment was the system detecting a wormhole that wasn't there," Eldon explained. "Once I'd fixed everything I realised I could do the same thing whenever I wanted. All I have to do is transmit the error subroutine and the Stargate will register a wormhole as present until I transmit the corrected routine."

"When did you decide to share your new skill with Privic?"

"Torrell came back a couple of weeks later," Eldon revealed. "He took one of Elana's friends and we were powerless to stop him. Elana was devastated Major … I had to give her … give _everyone_ some hope that we could find a way to stop Torrell from taking anyone else."

"You should have come to us as soon as you realised Torrell was a problem," Lorne admonished. "Hell, you should have told me what you were up to when you left Atlantis! If you had neither of us would be stuck in this crappy excuse for a jail right now."

"I know," Eldon agreed miserably. "It was stupid. I just never …"

"You never had anyone you could trust," Evan sighed, his momentary frustration ebbing in the face of Eldon's remorse. "If you had, you'd have known that Doctor Weir would never go back on her word – we took you in and she promised to look out for you. She took her promises very seriously Eldon. I'd be dishonouring her if I didn't uphold every one of those promises now that she'd gone."

"Do you think …," Eldon trailed off, wanting to ask something but also not wanting to hear the answer if it was negative.

"Do I think Atlantis will still help even though you went out on your own instead of trusting us?" Evan asked. Eldon nodded. "I think Colonel Sheppard will feel the same kind of responsibility I do – he'll do the right thing."

"They'll come to speak to Privic first?"

"I'd guess so," Lorne shook his head. "If Privic digs his heels in with Colonel Sheppard he won't like the response he'll get back."

"Colonel Sheppard wouldn't hurt Privic," Eldon declared.

"Of course not," Lorne smiled suddenly. "He'll just transport us all out of here before Privic can protest – and your only means of stopping Torrell will be gone."

Eldon knew about the subcutaneous transmitters so he understood immediately what Lorne was saying. He had a transmitter too but Evan knew his own safety wouldn't be what Eldon was worrying about. Saving himself wouldn't be good enough otherwise he'd never have come back to Olesia. No, he'd be on at Lorne until Evan agreed to help Elana and her family and Eldon's family, and anyone else the young man considered worthy of saving.

"We need to talk to Privic," Evan said seriously. "Get him to at least be receptive to any visitors he might get from Atlantis – without letting slip that rescue from Atlantis is more than just a possibility."

"I'll ask when the guards come to take us for our walk," Eldon promised.

Evan nodded, resting his head back against the wall. His thoughts went back to Elizabeth, and for the first time he didn't feel that rush of guilt and grief before anything else. Instead he found himself smiling slightly thinking back to how many times she'd gotten angry with Colonel Sheppard because he'd made promises off world without getting her agreement first. More than once she'd commented to Evan that John was too free with _her_ honour – because of course any promises made by her people were the same to her as if she'd made them herself. She'd threatened to revoke John's off world exploration status a few times and then laughed with Lorne because they both knew she'd never do that in reality, no matter how amusing it was to imagine the Colonel's reaction when he got that order from Elizabeth.

It was nice to be able to remember some of his fonder moments with the city's former leader. She'd heartily approved of Evan's relationship with Jennifer too – had taken the time to tell him he'd chosen well. It amused him to learn she'd said much the same thing to Jennifer, _before_ either of them put those first decorations on the tree last year. He'd liked that enough to remind Jennifer of Elizabeth's words in one of his advent messages.

"_I don't need anyone's approval to marry you Jennifer, but it means a lot to me that Elizabeth approved. In fact she said I had excellent taste! No one gets married in isolation – the fact that we had that support and approval has to add to the reasons why you should say yes, don't you think?"_

It was funny that he had no regard for anyone who might suggest he and Jennifer didn't belong together, but at the same time it did warm his heart that they had so much support from those around them. Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, Lorne's team and Jennifer's staff – their relationship had been welcomed universally. Maybe it was just that although Evan didn't believe in fate if it meant he couldn't influence the future at the same time he liked the idea of 'meant to be'.

Meant to be was just another way of saying he had no doubts he'd get off Olesia and back to Jennifer's side ... hopefully sooner rather than later.


	15. December 15th

**Author's Note:**

I may have botched keeping this lined up with the actual date but I haven't abandoned the story! Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter - your comments are always appreciated, as is your patience with the delayed posting. Here's the next chapter ... hope you all had a great Christmas!

**December 15****th**

"You wished to speak with me Major?" Privic sat on the bench outside his hut, a leafy roof serving to make it as close to a veranda as you'd find in the village. Lorne had been escorted to the elder in lieu of the daily walk, Eldon still back at their cell awaiting Evan's return.

"That's right," Lorne moved to stand in front of the other man, nodding his head towards the bench. "May I?"

Privic sighed. "You may, although I fail to see the point in discussing matters we have already gone over many times."

"I'm not here to talk about that," Evan said, taking a seat and stretching his legs out in front of him. Casting a sideways glance at the older man, he then turned his attention to the view laid out before them. The village Privic and his people had created from nothing was primitive but for a people almost devastated by the Wraith it was still impressive. A few people worked at the necessary daily chores, the younger ones indulging in the kind of play that didn't need high tech toys or computers to have them laughing and engaged. "You've done well here so far," he commented easily.

"We have a long way to go," Privic replied.

"You do," Evan agreed. "And I understand why the situation with Torrell is an issue for you. He threatens what you're trying to build here. That's why it's such a shame, even if we do successfully defeat him, that you've already let him win."

"That man wins nothing!" Privic spat out, glaring at Evan. "You yourself serve as evidence of how far we will go to ensure he _never_ wins. My people will not give in or cower before our enemies as we have done in the past."

"Eldon told me how it used to be, before Torrell came back," Lorne said in a low, intent voice. "You and the other elders were so determined to wipe the slate clean, to build an Olesia that would never enter into the kind of deal your former magistrate did."

Privic flinched at the mention of the Wraith deal, his facing paling.

"Everyone co-operating, no penal colonies, no sacrificing a few for the many," Lorne went on purposefully. "You were doing things _your_ way. Then Torrell came and now you're back to jails and holding people hostage to get what you want."

"You do not understand," Privic said defensively.

"Then explain it to me," Evan insisted.

Privic hesitated for a moment. "Do you have a family Major – a wife, children?" he asked quietly.

"Not yet," Lorne replied. Thinking of Jennifer, he smiled. "I have someone I hope will be my wife in the not too distant future."

"Then you will understand what it is to have something precious enough you're willing to do anything to protect it," Privic continued. "My own dear wife passed many years ago and yet I miss her to this day. My daughter … Sonara, was so much like her mother," his expression went wistful, his eyes locked on the past. "When the Wraith attacked I begged, bartered and lied to get Sonara and my grandchildren on one of the ships leaving the mainland as the Wraith attacked. I would have given my life for theirs but the fates were cruel. Her ship was shot down while mine made it safely to this island. She believed so strongly that Olesia needed reforming – it was she who urged me to take a leadership role here as we formed the new Olesia. Living up to her wishes, honouring her memory, is all that motivated me in the early days."

"And then Torrell attacked," Lorne said sadly, understanding how crushing it would have been to Privic to have everything he'd worked so hard for compromised by one vengeful, malicious man.

"And forced us back to our old ways," Privic gave a harsh laugh. "Sonara wished for something that does not exist. I have gone against everything she hoped I'd be here – all I have left is to ensure other families do not suffer such grief at Torrell's hand."

"Nothing will ever remove the weight of what you've lost," Evan said quietly – there was empathy and the kind of understanding in his voice only someone who's suffered his own losses could display. Lorne _knew_ … he still missed his Dad and it had been almost thirty years since Jonathon Lorne was killed. All the other losses on top of that first grief added to the weight he carried, but the first was the foundation for how he handled every grief thereafter. "You can't go back but you can more forward. I know you don't trust us and I understand why. Indirectly we're responsible for what's happening now. We set Torrell and the others free. That's why I'm going to go out on a limb here."

Privic's eyes narrowed; his expression was guarded but he _was_ listening and Lorne took that as an encouraging sign.

"My people are coming Privic," Lorne said simply. "I can't tell you when they'll be here, only that it'll be soon. You can't stop them and if you give the wrong response when they get here you won't be able to prevent them from taking my team, me, _and_ Eldon away from here. You'll lose your only chance for some real help and there won't be a way to get it back."

"How?" Privic asked stiffly.

"The Stargate isn't the only means of interstellar transportation," Lorne reminded him. "The Wraith aren't the only race with that capability either. Your old ships are like the early technological steps my people took a long time ago. Now we can travel the distance from our planet to yours – it can take days but we'll get where we need to go. We don't need the Stargate."

"I see," Privic was expressionless but Lorne could still tell the news troubled him.

"Just listen before you do anything," Evan urged. "That's all I'm asking. You might be surprised at what's on offer."

"There is something I do not understand," the older man said in a low tone. "Why?"

"Why would my people help you, especially after you've held me and the rest of my team prisoner for two weeks?" Lorne expanded, waiting for Privic to nod before he answered. "Because it's what we do," he said simply. "And because when we make a mistake we like to fix it, if we can. In all likelihood my commanding officer will be on that ship … he's someone who never breaks his word, even when he's promised something bordering on impossible. I don't expect you to take _my_ word on that but I'm giving it to you anyway."

Privic nodded, still troubled but more thoughtful than Lorne had seen him previously. "Very well," he said. "I will give your commanding officer the chance to speak."

"Thank you," Lorne replied, relieved. He got up, ready for the guards to escort him back to his cell. As they walked the now familiar path words ran through Evan's head.

"_The losses don't go away but the weight is easier to bear when shared. Let me do that for you Jenn, just as you do for me. Say yes."_


	16. December 16th

**Author's Note:**

Apologies for the delay in getting back to this story. I'm a few chapters ahead on the writing now so fingers crossed there won't be any more major delays. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - it's always lovely to hear your thoughts on how the story is progressing. I don't use a beta so apologies re any errors I missed.

**December 16th**

After four days on the Daedalus Jennifer would be forgiven for feeling like they were never going to get to Olesia. She'd have hovered around on the bridge if Colonel Caldwell would allow it but of course that was out of the question. She couldn't be actively involved in the ship's journey but she pushed her friendship with Colonel Sheppard to the limit, radioing him with increasing frequency the closer they got to ask him how much longer.

Evan was in jail … on a planet with in all likelihood poor sanitation and limited medical care. Were they feeding him properly and letting him exercise? Was he injured? As their arrival at Olesia loomed, Jennifer's concern for the condition she'd find Evan and his team in escalated.

"Doc," John's voice over the radio halted another round of spiralling what ifs.

"We're there?" she asked hopefully.

"We're there," John confirmed.

"Did you find Evan and his team?"

"Five transmitters, all sending back strong signals," Sheppard reported.

"Oh, thank God," Jennifer exclaimed.

"Head down to the F302 bay," John advised. "We leave in five minutes."

Jumping up Jenn grabbed her medical kit – the one she'd kept packed and then checked every day regardless – and then almost ran to the large internal hanger where they stored the F302's and for this journey two puddle jumpers as well. John had decided to bring a second ship, just in case a more compelling show of force was required to convince the Olesian's to free Lorne's team and cooperate.

"Ready?" John asked, giving Jennifer a chance to stow her gear before she took a seat in the back of the Jumper.

"Ready," she said, nodding to Teyla and Ronon. Rodney looked up before quickly directing his attention to the screen at his station.

"Right, let's do this," John powered up the Jumper. "Bridge, this is Jumper 1, ready to depart."

"Jumper 1, Bridge, acknowledged. Bay door opening sequence commencing in three … two … one."

Jennifer watched as the large doors slowly opened, the blackness of space growing until the stars of Olesia were visible too.

"Jumper 1, Bridge. You are go for launch."

"Acknowledged." John grasped the controls and guided the ancient ship through the opening, the drive pods engaging as they soared towards the planet below.

"This is insane," Rodney muttered, fingers tapping rapidly on his keyboard.

"So you've said … _repeatedly_. Relax Rodney," John retorted. "Nothing untoward showed up on the scans the Daedalus took. It'll be fine."

"Well that's reassuring!" Rodney's sarcasm was in full swing. "They don't have any weapons big enough to show up from space – I feel so much better!" He shot John an irritated glance. "Never mind the various weapons we wouldn't detect … you know, the ones that shoot bullets and kill people!"

"They won't shoot us," Sheppard was firmly positive.

"How can you possibly _know_ that?" Rodney demanded.

"Because Lorne hasn't been sitting on his hands the past two weeks," John smiled back at Jennifer. "At the very least I'd expect he'd have gotten an agreement from this Privic guy Eldon mentioned to hear us out before making any decisions."

"You're putting a lot of faith in a guy who's being held in jail by people who used to specialise in that kind of thing," Rodney retorted, "no offense," he added, giving Jenn an awkward look.

"None taken," Jennifer returned. She could see Rodney's point but like John, she had faith in Evan. She'd seen him achieve things when the situation looked grim before – why not this time as well?

"Lorne got Eldon to go against his own people to dial Atlantis," John reminded them. "Let's just reserve judgement until we see what kind of reception we get, okay?" Looking at Ronon, he continued. "Be ready to show some force … just don't look like you're ready to show force."

"I got it covered," Ronon flashed John a grin that said he'd like nothing better than for the Olesians to give him a reason to show that force.

Sheppard narrowed his eyes at his Satedan team mate.

"Everything will proceed as planned," Teyla soothed her team mates. "Should we not be focussing our attention on the village?"

"We should," John agreed, giving her the kind of smile he reserved just for her.

The rest of the journey through the atmosphere and towards the island the Stargate was located on was done silently, everyone lost in their own thoughts. For Jennifer they centred around her excitement at being so close to seeing Evan again, as well as her fear that something would go wrong. When she'd opened Evan's message for day 16, it hadn't crossed her mind that the true day would come and she'd still not have seen him.

"Almost there," John murmured, eyes trained on the HUD. It was almost dusk on Olesia, the sun sitting low in the sky. They flew low over the trees, the canopy thinning until the village came into view. It was primitive but organised. As John brought the cloaked jumper down to hover in the centre they could all see there were no signs of obvious concern. No soldiers with guns – no weapons, just a few people finishing up their day's chores. "Looks okay," John decided, landing the jumper. Activating the radio he spoke briskly. 'Daedalus this is Jumper 1. We have confirmed minimal visible threats and are proceeding to phase 2."

"Acknowledged Colonel," Caldwell replied personally. "We have sensors locked on all of you."

"Hopefully we won't need it but be ready to pull Lorne and the others out on my signal," John turned to his team, meeting each gaze as he signed off. Hitting the release for the rear hatch he strode out first, uncloaking the Jumper as he went.

They garnered a crowd, mostly kids and those adults who'd been working nearby.

"Hi," John said easily, speaking generally in the hopes that someone would step forward to act as spokesperson. "Can anyone tell me where we can find Major Lorne and his team?"

"You need to speak to Privic," a woman returned, her eyes darting from John to the Puddle Jumper nervously.

"That'll do to start," John smiled, charming the older woman. "If you could just point us in the right direction Ma'am we'll be on our way."

"At the end of the street," the woman gestured behind them. "It's the last hut – the one with the veranda."

John turned, eyeing the few huts that stood between them and the chance to begin negotiating to get their people back. "Thank you," he said, motioning for everyone to fall in as he led the way forward.

Jennifer walked beside Ronon, something reassuring in the way his narrow eyed gaze assessed everyone and everything they passed.

When they got to the hut a man was already emerging. Jennifer judged him to be around fifty – old by Pegasus standards. He was quite short and there was an air of something gloomy or sad about him that Jennifer found worrying.

"Are you Privic?" John asked, keeping his tone pleasant.

"I am," Privic replied. "You must be Colonel Sheppard. Major Lorne warned us that you would come."

"Well, the major was right," John rested one hand on his P-90, giving the man an assessing look as he introduced the rest of his team. "Now I'd very much like to talk to Lorne myself, so if you'll just go and get him we can have everything sorted in time for dinner."

"I will allow you to speak to Major Lorne," Privic began, "once we have discussed the terms of his release."

"Is that right?" John drawled easily.

"I am well aware that you can remove all of your people from this planet without the need of force Colonel," Privic sighed. "We have not harmed them, nor will we. Olesia is now a peaceful settlement … we have no power beyond our ability to disable any Stargate as we see fit."

The suggestion was out there even though they had to read between the lines. Privic was threatening to shut down the Atlantis Stargate.

Rodney laughed. "Oh please, like you have the ability to do that, let alone our gate address!"

Privic smiled, a pleased with himself and somewhat secretive smile.

John grimaced. "You have the gate address?"

"Eldon is very gifted with Stargate technology Colonel," Privic explained. "As you would be aware, very few planets have been dialled from this island. In fact there have been only four. The planet you yourself sent our convicts to, your previous gate address, the planet Eldon went to, to meet Major Lorne's team, and most recently your new location." Privic smiled at Rodney. "And before you speak Doctor McKay, no we do not have the means to get through your shield, nor is this required to disable your Stargate."

"Is that possible," John stepped closer to Rodney, speaking low enough for Privic not to overhear.

"Maybe," Rodney allowed. "The shield stops matter from being reintegrated by placing a barrier less than a micron away from the event horizon. It's still an open wormhole though – transmissions, radio signals, anything that doesn't rely on physical matter, are unaffected."

"Right," John shook his head. Stepping forward again he gave Privic his game face – the one that said get out of the way because he meant business. "We'll talk," he said grimly, the unspoken '_until we hear something we don't like_' clear.

"A wise decision," Privic said, clearly relieved. "While this is not a social occasion Colonel, it is traditional for the village elders to share the evening repast with our people. You will be my guests, after which there will be ample time to discuss other matters."

"How could we refuse your gracious invitation?" John quipped sarcastically.

Privic smiled. "Good. Please, follow me."

Sheppard motioned for Teyla and Rodney to lead. Jennifer hurried to get into step beside John, her expression pained. "John," she pleaded, not sure what she was really asking him to do. The idea that she was so close and yet still unable to see for herself that Evan was unharmed was unbearable.

"I _know_," he shot back. "I want to say screw you to this guy as much as you do Doc, but if there's even a remote chance they can shut us down like he says, we can't take the risk. Look, just play along for now. Can you do that?"

"Of course," Jenn replied unhappily. "I just … we're so _close_."

"You heard Privic – Lorne's fine," John reassured her. "Just hang in there."

Nodding, Jennifer glared at the back of their host, wishing just once that things could be simple!

* * *

><p>"Major Lorne."<p>

Evan looked up to see one of the village elders, Remar, at the cell door. Eldon looked up too, his expression falling when he saw who it was. The man wasn't there to release them – in fact, if Privic were to have a right hand 'yes' man, Remar would be it.

"Privic wished me to tell you that your people have arrived," Remar announced, his face disappearing from view as soon as he was done.

"Wait!" Evan jumped up, moving to stand at the door. "Tell me what happened!"

Remar let out a grunt of annoyance but he did come back. "Your people arrived just before nightfall. Privic convinced them of the need to talk about our situation before any discussions about your release. They attend the evening repast as we speak."

"You said 'my people'," Evan said quickly. "Who's here?"

"Colonel Sheppard introduced himself and his team, and another woman, a doctor," Remar answered grudgingly.

_Jennifer_! Evan held in the desire to shout out an audible 'yes' with accompanying fist pump. Without any further conversation and before Evan could ask any more questions Remar took his leave.

"This is good news, isn't it?" Eldon asked. After so many days jailed together the younger man was much more relaxed and comfortable when talking to Evan.

"It's _great_ news," Evan corrected. "Any idea what Privic used to get Colonel Sheppard to agree to talk first?"

"My program," Eldon turned away, kicking at the wall in frustration. "I should never have created that tool!"

"You couldn't have known how Privic would use it," Evan excused. Thinking about what would make the Colonel cautious he sighed. "So I guess he's threatening to shut down our gate too." Evan looked at Eldon suddenly. "He'd be bluffing though, right?"

"Ah," Eldon avoided Evan's eyes by staring at his feet.

"Eldon," Evan warned.

"M-maybe," Eldon admitted nervously. "I didn't have time to test everything so I may have … exaggerated my early results." Eldon looked up then. "I _had_ to convince Privic to allow me to use the tool."

"So Privic is using the exaggerated information you gave him to bargain with Colonel Sheppard, only he's bluffing but he doesn't know he's bluffing?"

"Something like that," Eldon admitted. "Theoretically it _is_ possible the program could shut down a Stargate remotely via an open wormhole."

"So you're saying the shield wouldn't protect us?"

"If it works at all, no," Eldon said reluctantly.

"Well … this just keeps getting better and better!" Evan shot out, glaring at Eldon irritably. "Anything else you've neglected to tell me?"

"No Major," Eldon said miserably. "I'm really sorry … about all of this."

Evan sighed, relenting abruptly. There was no point – the kid had meant well. What was it they said about the road to hell and good intentions? "Don't worry about it Eldon. We'll sort something out."

"I hope so," Eldon murmured, returning to his bed and lying down wearily.

With nothing else to do, Lorne followed suit, lying on the thin, narrow mattress of his own 'bed' and staring up at the ceiling. When he'd shaped the number 16 in pebbles, the last thing Evan had been thinking was that it would actually take that long before he'd see Jennifer again. Now that he knew she was there, on Olesia, the frustration of still being locked up had him ready to climb the walls. "_Soon_," he reminded himself. He'd already waited so long, what were a few more hours?


	17. December 17th

**Author's Note:**

Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter - much appreciated! I haven't totally finished writing this but most of it is now done - just have the last couple of chapters left to write. I'll start posting chapters quicker once I've got those two chapters done. Thanks for reading!

**December 17****th**

The following morning Jennifer rose with renewed optimism. The talks with Privic the previous evening seemed to go well – the leader of Olesia hadn't thrown them in jail and John hadn't done something stupid like let Ronon make use of his blaster. That might change if Privic didn't let Evan and Eldon go free today but Jenn really didn't think it would come to that. Why else would Privic be so willing to talk at all? No, Jennifer was sure that Privic would do the right thing – he was just understandably reluctant to give up a strong bargaining point before he'd won the agreement he needed from the Atlantians.

"Doc."

Jennifer turned to see John approaching. Privic had assigned them a hut to sleep in once the dinner and talks had concluded. She'd been restless - her mind too full of all the things that could go wrong. It had been a relief to wake to the early morning light after a few hours of sleep - she'd settled on the bench that ran around the outside of the hut.

"Colonel," Jennifer returned, turning her attention back to watching the village stirring with the new day.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, stopping beside her.

"Not really," Jennifer shrugged. "Do you think Evan knows we're here?"

"If he didn't before last night he will now," John replied. "Coughlin seemed confident he could get a message to Lorne."

"That's good," Jennifer began and then stopped. "Or maybe it isn't – is it harder to wait for freedom when you know it's so close?"

"I don't know," John admitted.

"Are we going to help them - the Olesians I mean?"

"Do _you_ think we should?" John asked curiously.

"Yes," Jennifer said with hesitation. "Even without the background Atlantis shares with these people it isn't right for a small group to terrorise so many. Their lives will be hard enough trying to establish a new home without someone coming and taking parts of it away."

"I agree and luckily so does Colonel Carter," John revealed. "Privic will get his agreement."

"You knew you were going to say yes before we even set foot down here, didn't you?" Jennifer's eyes narrowed.

"Ah," John hesitated.

"You let Evan stay in jail overnight when he didn't need to!" Jennifer smacked John's shoulder in frustration.

"Privic's the kind of guy you need to set boundaries with," John shot back defensively, shifting out of her range. "If I'd given in too easily he'd have added more conditions. This way we get Lorne back and Privic thinks he's won a major concession from us." Eying Jennifer he softened his tone. "It was the only way Jenn … and Lorne would expect no less."

"I know," Jennifer sighed, resigned. They were military and the kind of guys who sacrificed their own comforts too easily.

"I'll talk to Privic first thing," John promised.

Nodding, Jennifer turned back to watch the Olessians. It was going to be a lovely day.

* * *

><p>"Major Lorne."<p>

Evan moved to the cell door and looked through the opening to see the village elder. "Privic," he returned. "What can I do for you?" Even though he was the one behind bars somehow he still retained an element of commanding the situation.

"I have discussed our situation with your commanding officer as you suggested," Privic began. "He was initially very reluctant but this morning _has_ agreed to help us resolve our issues with Torrell."

Evan held in a grin. Sheppard was an excellent judge of character – no way would he have made it too easy for Privic otherwise there'd be no end to the requests for further help. Take his own situation as a case in point. Eldon had only wanted Lorne to help them come up with a way to fix things – Privic was the one to be lured at the thought of a permanent armed presence by keeping Lorne's team.

"So Eldon and I are free to go?" Lorne asked. No way was he going to leave the jail unless Eldon was also released.

"Colonel Sheppard will live up to the agreement?" Privic asked.

"Once he gives his word he won't break it," Lorne said with quiet confidence.

Privic met Evan's eyes, reading the certainty there, before he gave a sharp nod. "Very well," he motioned for someone out of sight. The guard stepped forward and unlocked the door, swinging it wide open.

Even though he and Eldon had been allowed out of the cell every day it felt much different this time, knowing he wouldn't have to return back there.

As soon as he walked through the door out into the street he was greeted by the running form of Jennifer Keller. She literally threw herself into his arms, so sure that he'd catch her that she didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face against her neck and just breathed her in.

"Evan," she murmured and he could feel the smile on her lips.

"Jenn," he reared back to get a look at her, smiling at the sight of her familiar features. There she was, his beautiful angel … his motivation for pretty much everything these days. "Hi," he said simply.

"Hi yourself," Jennifer replied; and then she pulled him down to her, planting a heated kiss on his lips he had no choice but to return.

* * *

><p>After Lorne was filled in on what had been happening on Atlantis during his absence, and after they'd all met with Privic again, this time in a much more amicable atmosphere, Evan gratefully took Jennifer's hand and led her on a walk away from the village. It was dusk and everything had that 'shut down for the day' feeling.<p>

"I'm surprised you're not angry," she commented, the long grass around them rustling as they passed through it.

"Why would I be angry?" he asked, surprised.

"Because I'm here," Jenn said simply.

Evan nodded, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "When Remar mentioned there was a doctor with Colonel Sheppard I knew it was you. You know what my initial reaction was?"

Jennifer shook her head, watching him carefully.

"Relief," Evan admitted. "I was just so damn glad that you were here that it didn't occur to me to worry that you're now a part of this situation too. Sure, I'm concerned about the danger if Torrell and his crew attack before we're ready, but …," he shrugged. "It's already been too long Jenn – I'm glad I don't have to wait those extra days to see you again."

"Me too," Jennifer smiled, wrapping one arm around his waist and holding on tightly. "And I promise I'll stay out of the way and go back to the Daedalus when you need me to if that's what it takes."

"Thank you," Evan smiled. "Good work finding my message," he complimented.

"It took me too long," Jenn shook her head. "I didn't think to ask to see where you went missing at first and when I did it took me hours to go through everything - Rodney took _hundreds_ of photos." She chuckled, seeing the humour now that Evan was no longer missing. "I literally fell asleep at the computer - snapped awake just before my head hit the screen and there it was, your message, right in front of me."

"Well, however you did it, I'm still impressed," Evan insisted, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and squeezing bracingly. "You did great."

They walked in silence for a few moments before he spoke again. "I have been wondering one thing though."

"What's that?"

"When I made you the advent house Jenn it never occurred to me that we'd be separated for so many of those days," he explained. "I admit I've been worried that having that daily message from me wouldn't help you cope."

"Oh, but it _did_," Jennifer exclaimed. "Your messages had a way of cutting to the heart of every day Evan. Sometimes that made me cry but it also made me laugh too … and appreciate what we have all the more. The only regret I had was that I didn't give you my answer when I had the chance."

"I wanted this to be special Jenn," Evan countered. "I still do. This is the kind of thing that has to go on as normal, despite what we face out here, otherwise the negatives will destroy everything we've worked hard to build."

"But -," Jennifer began.

"Please," Evan spoke quietly. "I don't want to remember our first moments as an engaged couple taking place here … let's wait until we get back to Atlantis, okay?" Maybe it was just a formality now – both of them understood that when Jennifer gave her answer it would be in the affirmative – but Lorne found that it was important to him. He wanted them to start this new phase of their relationship in a strong, positive position.

"Okay," Jennifer said softly. "But if you make me regret that decision there won't be any plane of existence you can hide in where I won't hunt you down and make you pay."

"Duly noted," Evan returned, amused.

"Do you remember what today's message was?" Jennifer asked hopefully. When Evan frowned, she laughed. "I brought some of them with me so I wouldn't get behind but I didn't plan on the Daedalus being delayed an extra day, nor John taking so long to get you released. I ran out yesterday."

"Oh, right, sure," Evan narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Day 17, right?"

Jennifer nodded.

Hesitating Evan admitted, if only to himself, that he felt somewhat awkward. Sharing his thoughts and feelings in written form was a lot easier than speaking them out loud. They sounded fitting on paper … he just wasn't sure they'd have the same impact if he had to tell Jennifer what he'd written. Still, it was her advent house and she'd asked for the day's message – he couldn't refuse.

"_You make me want to finish the painting I started the day Carson died,"_ he admitted, shrugging self consciously.

"Oh Evan," Jennifer smiled tearfully, turning to hug him fiercely.

"So, I guess you liked that one?" he commented, running his hands up and down her back in comfort.

"It's beautiful," she returned, still tearful.

"What about day 4 – did you like that one?" he quipped, intent on lightening the mood … or more accurately redirecting it to a different area.

"It had its merits," Jennifer agreed. She gave him a sly and yet also shy smile and his pulse jumped. "Maybe you could demonstrate some of its finer points for me."

"There's no _maybe_ about it," Evan returned, grabbing her hand and swiftly turning towards the fields the Olesian's used for their crops. If he recalled correctly they had a small hut out there that would be unoccupied this time of evening. It was the best he could do for privacy and he knew Jennifer wouldn't mind. They needed the intimacy to put away the emotions of the past couple of weeks … and reclaim the joy any couple in their position would be feeling.

They were almost engaged … and Evan wasn't going to let anything get in the way of enjoying that.


	18. December 18th

**Author's Note:**

I jinxed myself saying last time that there shouldn't be any more big delays for this story. After all that work to get a few chapters ahead on the writing I was foiled by problems with my internet AND needing to completely replace my computer! So, now that's mostly fixed, should I risk it again and say hopefully posting will be regular until I've finished posting the whole story? Probably not! Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter - glad you enjoyed Lorne and Jenn's reunion. And now, on with the story - we still have seven days to get through (most of them already written and everything!)!

**December 18****th**

"Any ideas on how we're going to handle Torrell and his gang Sir?" Evan asked. He and Sheppard had run some distance from the village in the early morning and were paused for a rest before making the journey back. Evan eagerly took up the offer to start the day with a jog – even with his daily 'supervised' exercise session, he felt like he'd been idle for weeks and lost some of his physical edge as a result.

"Round them up and take them back to the planet we left them on," John suggested. "Only this time we use Eldon's device to make sure they stay put."

"They'd have to fend for themselves, be totally self sufficient," Lorne mused. A rare grin crossed his face. "I like it Sir … very much."

"Me too," John smirked. "Much as I'd like to blast their asses out of the sky this will be much more fitting."

"They can get an appreciation of how hard it is to survive with only yourself to rely on," Evan commented. "A taste of what they've put the Olesian's through for months. Pity we can't send a gang to raid _them_ every few weeks - that would really hammer the message home."

"Tempting, but I think they'll suffer enough just with the isolation," John replied. "Rodney thinks he can disable their ship – he'll need time to work out the specifics once he gets a look at it so we'll need to hold them off for a while. Life for Olesia will be that much easier if they have access to that ship – otherwise I'd say to hell with disabling it, just take it out of commission completely."

"So you mean play along?" Evan grimaced.

"It'll be the least risky of our options," Sheppard pointed out. "Torrell will do whatever it is he does here, during which time Rodney can get the details he needs from their ship to disable it. When Torrell and his men leave, that's when we hit them."

"You should know that Torrell has taken women from the village before," Evan said intently. "Eldon mentioned a friend who lost someone the last time they were here. They don't return and no one knows what happens to them."

"That complicates things," John admitted.

"Much as I hate to suggest it Sir, we could offer them a deal," Evan began. "A few supplies that will make their lives a little easier after we strand them. Torrell might be convinced to give up the location of their current base of operations – or if not him, one of his men. Surely one of them is self interested enough to tell us what we need to know." He sighed deeply. "Even if the news isn't good I think the families will appreciate knowing what happened to their loved ones."

"Agreed," John said simply. "We'll work something out … Colonel Caldwell won't like it but the Daedalus will have something enticing enough to lure someone over to our side."

Nodding, Evan put the topic aside. "Ready to head back Sir?" he nodded in the direction of the village.

"Sure," John broke into a jogging pace, the two running easily side by side, their strides eating up the distance. "Everything okay with you and Jennifer now?" he asked.

"Yes Sir," Evan replied, struck again by how much things had changed because of one simple Christmas tree. Before, his CO would never have raised anything of a personal nature, and certainly not with as much ease as he did now. Teyla had been a big influence on the Colonel.

"She did okay," John offered. "Not in an 'I don't miss him at all' way of course, but she coped. You'd have been proud of her."

"I always am Sir," Evan grinned. "I should be angry that you risked her safety to bring Jenn here but I can't be, given how happy I was to see her."

"You did put on quite a show," John teased.

Evan flushed, recalling the reunion scene in vivid detail. Rodney's snide remark about needing a hut and then offering to beam them back to the Daedalus for some 'privacy' had finally broken through their complete absorption in each other. Jennifer wasn't bothered at all – she hadn't even blushed as she'd turned to Rodney and promised to remind him of that comment one day in the future when the tables were turned. Evan knew the look she'd sent McKay – she already had someone in mind for the scientist and a plan for making it happen. He'd laughingly wished the other man good luck, to Rodney's complete confusion.

"Sixteen days is a long time Sir," he excused now.

"It is," Sheppard agreed. Neither man said it but they were both thinking the same thing – John would be just as oblivious to the world around him if he'd been separated from Teyla for that long.

The two men continued their run in companionable silence until they reached the village again, slowing to cool down until they were walking. "Let's talk to Privic about our plans," John suggested.

"Give me ten minutes to get cleaned up Sir and I'll meet you there."

Nodding, John veered towards the hut he was sharing with his team while Evan continued on. Eldon had taken pity on Evan – or maybe it was more taking the opportunity to begin making it up to Evan for all the trouble he'd caused. In either case, he'd given his own hut over for Evan to share with Jennifer, taking Lorne's spot with his team in the other, larger hut. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Evan had taken the offer for what it was, happy to have the means to stick close to Jenn as much as he could.

Jennifer was only just stirring when he walked in. Since she didn't usually sleep in he was reminded anew just how hard the previous days had been on her.

"Hey," he greeted her, moving to sit on the mattress beside her. Smoothing back her hair he noted that she still looked tired.

"Is it time to get up?" she murmured, still half asleep.

"Not for you," he said softly. "Go back to sleep, okay?"

"'kay," she closed her eyes again, a smile on her lips as she let sleep reclaim her.

Evan smiled, touching a hand to her cheek again before he reluctantly got up and grabbed what he'd need to get dressed for the day. He tried to be quiet but Jennifer was a Doctor and too used to waking at the drop of a hat.

"Evan," she said just as he tied the last boot lace.

"You were going back to sleep," he admonished.

"Can't, not when I have you back again," she complained.

Chuckling, he moved back to the bed. "We're meeting with Privic – it'll be a long drawn out conversation. Rest a little longer – if you time it right you'll get there for the good part."

"I suppose," she said reluctantly, yawning.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

"I know that," she said, her expression telling him that intellectually she knew it but in her heart she was still worried he'd disappear again. "But you have to tell me what today's advent is before you go."

As a tactic to keep him there a little longer it was pretty transparent but Evan played along. He'd be a little late but Sheppard would understand.

"You think I memorised all 25 messages?" he teased.

"Yes!" Jennifer insisted, smiling. "Now spill!"

"Okay, since you asked so nicely," he paused for a moment. "Would you take my name, if we were married I mean?"

"Is that the advent message?" Jennifer asked, confused.

"Not exactly, but it's what inspired the message," Evan admitted. "Would you – take my name I mean?"

"Wow," Jennifer smiled, her eyes going soft and dreamy. "You know what? I never even thought about it!"

"No scrawling 'Mrs Jennifer Lorne' in your notebook?" he quipped.

"We're not in high school," she pointed out, amused. "And to be honest I'm glad – you'd have never looked at me back then."

"I didn't know you back then Jenn but I can't imagine any version of you that wouldn't captivate me," Evan returned. "But you know it's not the past that's important – it's the future I'm interested in."

"Me too," Jennifer grinned. "Do you want me to be 'Mrs Jennifer Lorne'?"

"That's not fair – I asked first!"

"Don't be a baby," Jennifer reached out and ruffled his hair.

"I'm not b-," he stopped before the retort could be finished, taking a deep breath. "This one can't be about what I want Jenn. It has to be about you because you'd be the one making a big change here."

"Can I at least ask what it would mean to you, for me to change my name?" Jennifer asked.

"I'll tell you after you give me your answer," Evan replied.

Jennifer grimaced. "Fine." Her expression turned thoughtful and as the wheels turned in her head a smile grew. "Doctor Jennifer Lorne … I like the sound of that. Wow," she said again, her grin infectious.

"Yeah, it's certainly up there on the wow scale," Evan agreed.

"So what was the message?"

"_I don't have much but what I have is yours – especially my name, if you want it."_

"Well, we've established that I do," Jennifer looked very pleased with herself. "I like the idea of sharing a name with you … it makes us a family."

Evan grinned. "Exactly! Couldn't have said it better myself." They were in sync, always had been from that first date last Christmas Eve. Unable to resist, he rested a hand on either side of her shoulders, leaning down until he could kiss her.

It sucked him in as always … he'd have happily kissed the morning away with her but Jenn pulled away. "Oh God, isn't John waiting for you?"

"Damn," Lorne gave her a regretful look, leaning down to kiss her again before he made himself get up. "Go back to sleep," he urged.

"Like _that's_ going to happen now you've got me all fired up," Jennifer complained.

"Try," Evan insisted, amused. At the door he glanced back, glad to see she'd settled back down in the bed. "Bye," he lifted hand before heading towards Privic's hut.


	19. December 19th

**Author's Note:**

Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter ... this one is a short one but hopefully still good. Thanks for reading ...

**December 19****th**

By the end of the day, after much discussion and some reluctant agreements from the Olessian elders, they were ready to implement their plan against Torrell and his gang. That of course didn't mean Torrell was ready to turn up. As the sun dropped and night fell with no sign of the raiders, Evan and Jennifer retired to their hut. It was early by their usual standards but there was little to do after dark and both of them were still tired after too many nights of broken sleep worrying about the other.

The early night meant that Evan woke very early the next morning - early enough that the sun hadn't risen yet. When his mind went to the advent messages and he realised what he'd written for that day he sat up, shaking Jennifer's shoulder lightly.

"Honey, wake up," he leaned close to her ear, speaking in a low tone.

"Mmm?" Jennifer stirred but didn't wake.

"Jenn, open your eyes," he put a hand to her neck, running his hand up and into her hair.

She shivered, her eyes snapping open. "Evan? What time is it?"

"Before sunrise," he admitted unapologetically.

"And we're awake because?" her brow rose as she waited for his answer.

"Because there's something I want to see," he swung his legs out of bed. "Come on – get dressed."

"All right," Jennifer said reluctantly. "But this better be worth it!"

A few minutes later they were walking hand and hand through a darkness that was beginning to give way to the coming dawn. Evan led them up an incline towards the nearest coast until they came to a cliff with a sheer drop down to the water below. Sitting on the ground he pulled Jennifer down to sit in front of him so that she could use his chest as a back rest.

"Wait," he said, eyes on the horizon.

Jennifer pulled their still joined hands into her lap and settled to rest her weight against him.

The silence was peaceful, the small noises of night becoming more noticeable the longer there were no louder sounds to drown them out. With a flash of bright orange the first sliver of sun appeared. The sky around shifted to red and then orange to match as the sun slowly rose. Evan and Jennifer remained silent as they watched nature's show, the continuity of the daily event bringing peace to each of them.

"I've always liked the sunrise," Evan said in a low tone, "even more since it brought you to me." He paused, eyes on the horizon, arms holding her close. "I used to need it sometimes … when things were difficult. No matter how screwed everything got the sun still rose every day. It never mattered where we were or what was going on. It put things into perspective, you know?"

"And now?" she asked quietly.

"Now I don't need it anymore," he replied. "It's still my favourite time of day – all possibilities with none of the setbacks or difficulties most days bring before you get done with them. But it's better now … because I have you to share it with."

"You have me to share the burdens with too."

"I know," he smiled, squeezing her hand. "I know."

They turned their attention to the sky again, enjoying the rare chance to begin their day together in so relaxed a setting. That they could feel that way, given all the prior day's events and what was still ahead, gave the morning a charmed, almost magical feeling. Neither of them needed Evan to speak the words he'd written for her.

_The sunrise is brighter … better … but we don't need the sunrise to lift our spirits anymore, if we have each other._


	20. December 20th

**Author's Note:**

Thank you for your reviews for the last chapter ... we're on the home stretch now! Hope you enjoy the latest chapter ...

**December 20****th**

It took the remainder of the day and the better part of the next before Torrell finally showed up. The time had been well spent convincing Privic of the necessity to play along initially, but Evan still resented the need to spend even more time on Olesia. He'd had more than enough of the planet, and of the absence from Atlantis.

Lorne sat beside Colonel Sheppard, the two peering out the window as they watched the criminal gang leader stride into the village like he owned the entire planet. Torrell led a group of twenty five equally unkempt individuals, most with that smug countenance that declared they believed the universe owed them something and they'd gladly take it for themselves by whatever means necessary.

"Hasn't changed," Sheppard murmured.

"I take it that's not a good thing," Lorne commented, having never met the man himself.

"Not especially," John replied. Keying his radio he spoke quietly. "Rodney, how's it coming?"

The scientist was camped out as close to where Torrell usually left the Olesian ship as he could get. As soon as the coast was clear, with Ronon and Teyla there to ensure any guards left on board were taken care of, McKay went to work. Jennifer had transferred back up to the Daedalus when they'd beamed down a couple of teams to assist in apprehending Torrell and his men – the fact that she was close but safe served to have Evan feeling pretty optimisitic about what they were planning.

"It'd be faster if you stopped checking in every five minutes," Rodney retorted irritably. A condition of Privic's agreement to let the bandits raid the village one final time was that the Atlantians not destroy the Olesian ship. Since that ship technically belonged to the people they were trying to help and would really give them a leg up on recovering from the months of aggression, Sheppard had agreed, not letting on to Privic that they'd never intended to destroy the ship. It made Rodney's job harder but he'd been confident he could deliver results without the need to randomly rip out components in the hopes that one of them would ground the ship beyond immediate repair.

"So …. about the same as usual then," John quipped, sharing an amused glance with Evan. "Any trouble?"

"They left two guards," Ronon replied. "We took care of them." Lorne shook his head - Torrell was arrogant in his dominance over the Olessian settlement, to the point he'd left little protection for the ship he relied on to give him an edge over his victims. Did he really believe in his own people so little that he genuinely didn't think they'd ever challenge him? Whatever the reason, Evan had to be thankful for the lack of opposition, leaving their back up forces undetected and ready to respond should there be major problems in the village itself.

"Good," John didn't ask what 'taking care of them' meant in practice. "Listen, we'll keep you updated on Torrell's movements."

"We will do likewise on our progress here John," Teyla promised.

Signing off, John redirected his attention outside. Torrell had fronted up to Privic and was currently pushing the older man around, laughing when Privic stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Sir," Evan ground out.

"I know Major," Sheppard replied. "Privic knew what he was signing on for – we need to respect his decision."

"He's unpredictable Sir," Evan pointed out. "Plus he's lost everything that meant something to him, aside from this village. That's the kind of guy who makes rash decisions."

"We'll keep an eye on him," John replied.

"Bring me Eldon!" Torrell shouted, loudly enough for Evan and John to hear. "I want to see my old friend!"

"Eldon?" Privic prevaricated.

"Don't lie to me old man," Torrell warned. "Eldon's here and I want to see him. There's something I need him to do for me."

"Is it possible Torrell knows about Eldon's little trick with the gate?" Sheppard mused in a low tone.

"The last female he kidnapped was a close friend of the girl Eldon's sweet on," Evan offered grimly. "I'd say if he was convincing enough Torrell probably knows everything she did."

"Crap," John muttered, frowning. Eldon was in the hut with the elders – he's insisted on staying with his people to minimise the risk the Lantian's would be discovered ahead of time. Evan posted Coughlin with the younger man, his team mate dressed to pass for one of the locals should Torrell start searching the huts. Lorne imagined Nate was arguing with Eldon not to give in to Torrell but equally sure Eldon wouldn't stand by and let Torrell hurt anyone on his behalf.

"Eldon!" Torrell shouted. "Come out here!"

There was a pause and then the door of the meeting hut opened and Eldon came out. He walked nervously towards Torrell, his head low.

"Ah, there you are!" Torrell slapped a hand on the younger man's back hard enough to have Eldon staggering forward.

"T-t-torrell," Eldon stuttered.

"You have something I want," Torrell announced. Up until then he'd been armed but not in an in your face way. Now, he raised his weapon – a pistol like gun that fired laser shots – and pointed it straight at Eldon.

"I-I d-don't kn-ow w-what you m-mean," Eldon protested, throwing Privic a panicked glance.

"_Go along with him_," Evan urged in a low voice, his entire attention fixed on the scene outside.

"The Stargate switch," Torrell mocked. "Your little invention is the talk of my settlement and it strikes me as something I can make use of. Hand it over." The gun was up, the tip resting on Eldon's forehead.

"Wait!" Privic cried. "He doesn't have what you want."

"And how do you know that old man?" Torrell kept his gun on Eldon as he turned to the village leader.

"Because I do, right here," Privic held up Eldon's ancient homemade tool.

"Aww … did Dad take away your toys?" Torrell mocked, laughing as he shoved Eldon with the gun. Eldon stumbled again and looked as though he'd like nothing better than to jump Torrell and pummel him until he felt better. "Still – he strikes me as more malleable that you," Torrell lowered the gun and looked at Privic. "Give me that switch and I might even consider leaving you alone … for a few months."

"Why would we hand over our only bargaining chip to you?" Privic sneered. "You and your men disgust me."

"Hey boys!" Torrell laughed. "Looks like our little leader grew some balls since we were here last." Turning to Privic all humour dropped from his face. "I think we're gonna have to retrain you." Without warning he slammed his gun against Privic's head, sending the old man crashing to the ground.

Lorne was on his feet and out the door before Sheppard could react.

"Damn it!" John muttered, jumping up to join his 2IC before the other man got himself killed.

"Stop!" Evan yelled, running until he was beside Eldon. With one arm he moved the young man out of harm's way, all of his attention on Torrell. "Look, just take what you want and leave us the hell alone!"

"And who might you be?" Torrell's eyes narrowed as he took in Evan's attire. "Atlantis?" The criminal let out a burst of laughter before eying Privic. "You called in outside _help_? I have to say, I'm impressed."

Evan shifted to help Privic to his feet. "I bet it makes you feel big, picking on your elders … on women and children. You feel like a man using that gun against people who are unarmed?"

"This is the best you could do?" Torrell sneered at Privic, ignoring Evan. "And these people elected you their leader? _Fools!_"

It happened fast. Torrell's weapon was firing straight at Privic. Evan didn't think – he just reacted, leaping to the right as he pushed Privic out of the way.

The energy burst hit him square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. The pain was all encompassing … his vision blurring and his ears full of the roar of his own heart pumping frantically Evan was aware for long enough to register P-90 weapons fire, and then there was nothing.

* * *

><p>Jennifer paced the infirmary on the Daedalus, her attention more on worries about what could be going on, on the planet below than her own location.<p>

"Relax," Doctor Baker soothed.

"I'm trying," Jennifer returned.

"Sheppard to Keller."

"Oh God," Jenn swallowed weakly, knowing that tone in John's voice. Someone was in need of medical attention.

"I'm here," she replied, already moving to grab her medical kit.

"We need you down here asap," John advised, signing off before she could ask why.

Jennifer exchanged a speaking glance with her fellow doctor. He was the one to radio the bridge and request an immediate beam down to the planet.

Materialising in the middle of the village, Jennifer hurried over to where John stood, a few of the locals gathered around two figures on the ground. Everything in her froze when she realised one of them was Evan. She was at his side instantly, the medical scanner in her hand, with no recollection of how she got there.

"It was a laser weapon," John squatted beside her. "Point blank range."

Nodding, Jennifer ran the scanner over Evan's chest. There was only a small circle of blood on his shirt but as she watched the display her whole being sank. To see so little external evidence of injury, aside from the fact that Evan was unconscious, falsely advertised the seriousness of the situation. Whatever he'd been hit with it was powerful, cutting through muscle and bone and missing his heart by almost too small a margin.

"I need to get him to the infirmary immediately," Jennifer's voice was blank … her personal emotions on ice, numb to the seriousness of the situation. She couldn't think what ifs – they wouldn't help Evan. Never before had she been more grateful for the hours of training and experience that let her fall back to her Doctor persona. She wasn't helpless – _she_ was the one with the power to help Evan. He'd be okay because she wouldn't rest until he was.

John moved to radio the Daedalus.

"No," Jennifer shot out. "They don't have what I need. Getting Evan to Atlantis is the only way to save him."

Nodding, John activated his radio. "Sheppard to Daedalus."

"Caldwell here."

"Sir, I need you to beam myself, Major Lorne, Doctor Keller and Eldon to the Stargate down here immediately."

Caldwell didn't question him, thankfully. "Acknowledged. Stand by."

A moment passed during which Jennifer pressed a hand to Evan's chest and silently begged him to hang in there. Then Caldwell was advising them that the beam out was about to take place. Again Jennifer felt the warmth of the beam, materialising directly in front of Olesia's Stargate in the same position. Sheppard reacted instantly.

"Eldon – undo whatever the hell you did to the gate," he snapped out, throwing the young man the tool he'd grabbed from Privic before contacting the Daedalus.

Eldon pressed buttons frantically, giving Sheppard a nod when he was done. John didn't speak – he punched out the address for Atlantis and moments later was greeted by the shimmering pool of not water.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard. We have a medical emergency – Major Lorne is down."

"I need the OR prepped for surgery and a team ready to assist," Jennifer added. All of her attention was on her fiancé – she might not have said yes but in her mind that was a formality. He looked so pale and so still she kept a finger to the pulse point in his neck, the slow but steady beats reassuring her that he was still with her. "Hang in there," she begged softly, using her other hand to smooth back his hair tenderly, her emotions leaking through the control she was clinging to.

"Acknowledged Colonel," Colonel Carter replied to John's message. "You'll have what you need."

Sheppard moved to Jennifer's side. "It's not going to hurt him more if I pick him up, is it?" he checked. When Jennifer shook her head he bent, hoisting Evan up in a fireman's hold and charging for the gate with Jennifer hot on his heels.


	21. December 21st

**Author's Note:**

My sincere apologies for the long delay in the story - it wasn't my intention to leave the story on a cliff hanger but we were without any internet connection for most of the month unfortunately ... thankfully it's fixed now so I can finally complete this story! Thanks for all your reviews for the last chapter and for your patience.

**December 21****st**

It sounded so clichéd but no less serious that it had been touch and go as Jennifer worked to save Evan's life. The laser weapon had been brutal … a few millimetres to the left and Evan would have been dead before he hit the ground. She held it together through hours of surgery to fix all the damage, and then through the hours of sitting by Evan's bedside in recovery, waiting for a sign that he was returning to consciousness. As a professional, she knew Evan could remain unconscious for many hours yet but as a loved one, there was no way she could leave him.

"Doc," Sheppard said quietly as he approached Evan's bed. "How is he?"

"Lucky to be alive," Jennifer said simply. "I thought you were letting Torrell raid the village without a fight. Evan even told me there was little risk that anyone would get hurt! What happened?"

"I didn't factor in how long Evan spent with those people," John pressed his lips together, his eyes on his second in command. "Torrell went after Eldon and Privic and Lorne just couldn't sit there and watch it happen. He was in the middle of it before I could stop him."

"So Torrell shot him?" Jennifer exclaimed, the horror of the afternoon catching up with her. Her hands were trembling and she felt tears too close to the surface.

"No – Torrell shot Privic," John corrected grimly. "Evan just reacted – jumped in the way. He saved Privic's life."

"And Torrell?" Jennifer said harshly. She vaguely recalled a second body on the ground but all of her attention had been on Evan.

"Dead," John didn't have to add that he'd been responsible. "Without their leader the rest of his gang surrendered. Rodney was steamed because he was all set to disable their ship just after take off. Instead he had to undo what he'd done so we could hand it over to Privic."

"What about the people Torrell kidnapped?"

"Ronon took some of the Olesian's and one of Torrell's men to their settlement. The one's who survived should be back with their families by now."

"At least that's something," Jennifer murmured, smoothing back Evan's hair again.

"You need to get some rest," John said quietly.

"Later," Jennifer replied.

Sheppard didn't protest … he laid a hand on her shoulder in support and then pulled up a chair on the other side of Lorne's bed. "Then I'll wait with you."

"Could you," Jennifer hesitated, unwilling to leave Evan's side. "Would you do something for me first?"

"Whatever you want," John replied.

Jennifer explained what she wanted and with a nod John strode off to get it done. A few minutes later he was back, two tiny scrolls of rolled up paper in his hand.

"That's _some_ proposal," he murmured, handing her the scrolls.

"It is," she agreed, clutching the precious papers to her chest. It was crazy but a part of her believed that she'd been helping to keep Evan safe during their separation by honouring his daily message delivery. She'd missed two days and almost lost him … she knew it was silly to be superstitious but Evan wasn't out of the woods yet and her heart just couldn't take the risk.

Ignoring John sitting across the bed from her she unrolled the first message and read it silently.

"_I want to wake up beside you and not have to worry about who's going to notice me leaving your room early in the morning. Call me old fashioned, but your reputation is important to me."_

Laughing softly, she glanced down at the man she loved. He _was_ old fashioned in all the best ways. He carried the heavy boxes of medical supplies she always got every Daedalus run, and stood respectfully when she entered the room. He'd open doors for her too if Atlantis didn't get there first! Evan Lorne was a gentleman, pure and simple, and she loved that about him. She'd never doubted that she could count on him because he wasn't the kind of guy to let anyone down or not live up to his word.

Rerolling the message she put it aside and turned to the second message.

"_I won't die without you – you wouldn't want that – but the colour and the beauty and the soul would be gone for me and I know I'd never get it back. Never. Say yes and you'll keep the colour in my life for all the days we're both allotted."_

Silent tears coursed down her face, the hold she'd had on her emotions broken by Evan's words.

"Doc?" John leaned forward, concerned.

"I'm such a hypocrite!" she exclaimed.

"What?" John frowned, confused.

"Evan's right," she held up the tiny scroll even though John didn't know what was written there, giving him a tortured look. "If something happened to me I would want him to keep going, to be happy again," she got out tearfully. "But I don't think I can go on if he doesn't pull through. I just … I can't."

"Don't talk like that," John protested. "He's going to pull through and then you're both gonna live happily ever after, okay?"

"Okay," Jennifer sniffed, trying to smile at him through her tears.

"You did good back there Doc," John continued. "It's okay if you want to let go now – I won't tell anyone. Cry – Teyla always says it makes her feel better."

She couldn't do anything other than obey his order. Burying her face in her hands and slumping low beside Evan, Jenn cried for all the days she'd lost, for the pain Evan had and would suffer before he was fully recovered, and for the future she'd come too close to losing. When she felt some calm returning she sat up, wiping her face on the tissues John helpfully supplied.

"Better?" he queried.

"I guess," she agreed. She wiped her eyes again, pushing back her hair as she looked at John. "Happily ever after?" she queried, finally seeing the humour in what he'd said. "I never pegged you for a hopeless romantic Colonel."

"It was all I could come up with," John excused, flushing slightly.

"Well, it was good," Jennifer replied. "Thank you."

Evan shifted slightly and her attention was instantly back with him, the conversation forgotten. Checking his vitals she found herself smiling as she turned back to John. "He's improving," she announced. "It might be a while yet but he's starting to wake up."


	22. December 22nd

**December 22****nd**

Returning to consciousness was gradual. At first all Evan was aware of was the noises around him – machines and the faint sounds of people moving about. Familiar sounds that somehow reassured him. He was drifting … until abruptly his mind conjured up the last events he remembered. Torrell pointing his weapon at Privic, his own attempt to push the Olessian elder to safety. It seemed as soon as his mind remembered events so did his body, the pain of the hit he'd taken to the chest rising to the fore with enough force to have him letting out a groan.

"Evan?"

The low, hopeful voice was accompanied by a hand caressing the hair back from his brow.

Jenn. His lips curved up at the edges as he forced his lids to open, his eyes locking on hers immediately. "Hey," his voice sounded rough, his throat dry the way it always was when he'd been put under a general anaesthetic. He wasn't sure what it said about him that he'd been under enough times to recognise the after effects so readily.

"Hey," Jennifer smiled, her relief palpable enough that his guilt level rose sharply in response.

"I'm sorry Jenn," he felt compelled to utter the words even though he knew they didn't really help.

"You should be too," she responded briskly. "Colonel Sheppard already told me what happened so don't even try to down play it."

"He ah – I wasn't going to - …," he trailed off awkwardly.

"It's okay Evan," Jennifer leaned closer, taking his hand and holding on to it tightly. "At this point I'm just glad you're going to be okay."

"How bad was it?" he asked, his eyes telling her _he'd_ know if she tried to downplay things too.

"Bad," she admitted starkly. "You were lucky the energy bolt missed all the vital organs but it still did a lot of damage. It'll be a few weeks before you'll be ready to return to light duty."

He nodded. "I guess there's no point in asking when I can get out of here," he commented.

"None whatsoever," Jennifer said firmly. "You might be feeling somewhat okay right now but when the pain meds wear off it'll be a different story. You'll stay here until I judge that you're strong enough to get around without risk of hindering your recovery."

"Right, sure, of course," he grimaced, sure that he'd be frustrated with the inactivity long before he managed to get to that stage. "Was anyone else hurt?" he asked.

"Just you," Jennifer reassured him. "As soon as Torrell was eliminated the rest of his men surrendered without a fight. Ronon went to the home base and brought back the villagers they'd taken – the ones that were still alive."

"That's great news," Evan smiled, glad that something good had come from the day's events. "I'm guessing since I'm here that Eldon lifted the block he put on the Stargate?"

"Colonel Sheppard didn't give him a choice," Jennifer's voice quivered, her eyes watering as she looked at Evan. "We had to get you back to the infirmary here as soon as possible, otherwise …," she couldn't finish that sentence.

Otherwise he wouldn't have made it. Evan frowned.

"Don't say sorry again," Jennifer put a hand to his lips when he began to speak. "I knew going into this relationship that there would be times like this. Atlantis isn't a place for the faint of heart Evan … it all but killed me to see you so badly hurt but I can't blame you for that. I _don't_ blame you. The attributes that had you stepping in to save Privic are the same ones that made it impossible for me to do anything but fall in love with you."

He wanted to say the right thing to make everything better but there _was_ no right thing. Sometimes reality was harsh … but it made the choice to stick together and forge something lasting all the more meaningful.

"John's visited a few times waiting for you to wake up so I should let him know you're awake," Jennifer deliberately changed the subject, squeezing his reassuringly before she let go as she rose to her feet. "Nate and Dan are probably still hovering around outside even though I told them to go and get some rest. Eldon too – he feels guilty enough that you ended up in here so go easy on him."

"Don't -," he stopped himself short of making demands on her, knowing she had a job to do and could probably use a break from the seriousness of his situation, now she was assured he'd be okay.

"I'm not going far," Jennifer smiled, leaning down to kiss him gently, her hand caressing his cheek. "You do make it hard sometimes Evan Lorne," she murmured.

"But worth it, right?" When he was feeling stronger he'd probably feel embarrassed over how needy he sounded.

"Hell yes," she borrowed his own words to reassure him. "Now lie back and rest … I'll tell your team and Eldon they can visit for a minute or two each but then it's back to sleep for you."

"Yes Ma'am," he murmured, settling back into his pillow.

"Rest," she ordered, leaning in to kiss him again. When she straightened he was smiling. "What?" her eyes narrowed as she looked at him expectantly.

"Nothing," he returned. "I was just thinking about luck – and the large share I got dealt because I'm the one who gets to love you."

"Evan," her eyes misted and her lips trembled when she smiled. "You charmer," she murmured, letting the magnetism between them draw her back for a third, more heated kiss. Abruptly she pulled back, straightening and tugging down her jacket in an effort to appear calm and together. "Nice try but you still have to stay here," she said firmly. "I'll come back once the boys have had a chance to talk to you."

"-kay," he yawned as he watched her leave, wincing when the action pulled at his chest wounds. There was another set of knowledge he'd rather not be reminded he had – all the various normal functions like yawning and sneezing and laughing – that were all guaranteed to remind you of just how injured you really were.

"Sir," Nate was the first to arrive at his bedside.

"At ease," Evan returned, nodding as Dan and Jimmy moved to stand beside the Sergeant.

"It's good to see you awake Sir," Nate said less formally. "You had us worried there for a while."

"How long have I been out?" Evan had the sense that it was a while, enough that he hadn't wanted to ask Jennifer.

"The rest of yesterday and most of today Sir," Reed answered. "Doc says it'll be a few weeks before you're back on the roster."

"Yeah, that's what she told me too," Evan admitted. "Colonel Sheppard can assign someone else to the team while I'm laid up."

"We're good with being on stand down Sir," Nate countered, his tone the one he reserved when he thought Lorne was being particularly dense and in need of some upwards management.

"You feeling the need for a vacation Sergeant?" Evan teased.

"After weeks being the guests of the Olessians?" Nate's brow rose sharply. "Hell _yes_ Sir."

"I feel like I've lost fitness," Reed admitted. "It'll probably take us just as long to reach battle readiness as it will you Sir."

Nate and Jimmy both nodded. Evan knew what they were doing – making it clear they'd rather wait until he could lead them back out into the field than go out there without him – and he appreciated it.

"You all did well out there," he said.

"So did you Sir," Nate returned.

"Time's up," Jennifer's voice intruded on the team back slapping session. Evan smiled when Nate frowned. "Now that you've seen the Major I trust you'll follow my order for food and rest."

"Yes Ma'am," they all said reluctantly.

"Don't worry Sergeant," Jennifer said easily. "I'll let you know when you can come back. For now Major Lorne needs his rest too."

"We'll be back Sir," Reed promised as the three men turned to leave.

They passed Eldon as he hesitantly walked forward, his head low and his eyes downcast. Evan didn't think he'd ever seen anyone who looked as remorseful.

"Lighten up," Evan told the young man firmly.

"I'm r-really s-sorry M-m-major Lorne," Eldon seemed not to have heard Evan's words, his need to get out what he'd clearly prepared to say overriding everything else. "If I hadn't f-forced you to come to Olessia n-n-none of this would have happened."

"That's true," Evan's blunt response brought Eldon up short, his eyes going wide. "And Torrell would still be terrorising your people, taking the ones he wanted for who knows what purpose. And Olessia would be doomed to a slow death. I think we can all agree _that_ would have been bad."

"So you're not mad?" Eldon suddenly sounded younger than his years in his need for Lorne's approval.

"I'm not mad," Evan affirmed. "Just do me a favour okay. Next time, tell me all the facts first and let _me_ work out how best to help you."

"Okay," Eldon smiled, his eyes shining with gratitude. "Th-thank you Major."

"You're welcome," Evan said simply. "So, you sticking around the city for a while?"

"No," Eldon blushed, his eyes going down to his shoes. "Elana's friend was one of the people Ronon brought back to the village. She asked me to h-help with Kira's recovery."

"And you couldn't say no," Evan smiled. "I understand that one buddy. Sounds like you're on the right track with your girl."

"She's n-not my g-girl," Eldon protested. "Y-yet." His eyes met Evan's and the two men broke out into matching grins.

"Ouch," Evan put a hand to his chest. "Don't make me laugh."

"Sorry," Eldon was immediately contrite.

"It's not your fault," Jennifer was back again, her arms folded over her chest as she regarded her almost fiancé pointedly. "Major Lorne is notoriously bad at following infirmary orders."

"Colonel Sheppard is worse," Evan smirked when Eldon swallowed back a chuckle.

"You're welcome to visit again before you go back to Olessia Eldon," Jennifer said in a friendly tone. "Give Major Lorne a few hours to get some rest first, okay."

"Okay," Eldon agreed. "Thank you Doctor Keller, for everything."

"You're welcome," Jennifer smiled, watching as the young man hesitated, giving Evan's arm an awkward pat before he turned and hurried away.

"Thank you for everything?" Evan queried.

"He insisted on apologising to me for what he put me through taking you away for so long," Jennifer revealed. "Apparently you were quite eloquent when you talked about me."

"Oh," Evan grimaced. "That. I ah – I wanted him to think about all the consequences of his actions – to think beyond his own problems to how what he did affected others. Part of me was always worrying about what was going on here … with you … so I …," he trailed off, shrugging as much as his injuries would allow.

"You told him about us," Jennifer put a hand over his. "It's okay – it was flattering actually. Eldon is so earnest it would be hard to take offence to anything he said."

"He's a charmer all right," Evan returned, shaking his head. "So we're good?"

"We're good," Jennifer agreed. "In fact I have something I wanted us to do together." She held up a small scroll of paper.

Evan grinned. "You kept up?"

"I did," she admitted. "I know it's silly but I couldn't bring myself not to. In my mind I was linking you waking up with reading the messages for the two days since you were injured."

"Read today's message," Evan invited softly.

Jennifer nodded, sitting down beside him and carefully unrolling the tiny message. She read silently, giving him a laughing look when she was done. "_That's_ your reason? To give John the push he needs with Teyla?"

"Hey, it doesn't say that," Evan swiped the paper before she could move it away, re-reading it quickly.

"_I never understood that 'share the happiness' thing – friends trying to set you up just because they were happily hitched themselves. Until you. Now I'm thinking it would be fun to set an example – push a little in all the right places. We could be the first of a run of Atlantis weddings … if you say yes."_

"You might have made that general but we both know you're thinking about John and Teyla," Jennifer insisted.

"What about me and Teyla?" Colonel Sheppard strode towards Evan's bed, his brow knitted in confusion.

"Nothing Sir," Evan shot Jennifer a warning glance. She took the advent message, spiriting it away into her pocket before she turned to give John a welcoming smile.

"Colonel, you're just in time to visit with Evan before he settles down for another rest," she said. "Just for a few minutes though, okay?"

"You got it Doc," John agreed, giving Evan a sympathetic look. He'd done enough infirmary time himself to understand how all the restrictions chaffed.

"I'll be back," she told Evan, touching her hand to his before she left them to speak privately.

"Good to see you awake Major," John said.

"Good to _be_ awake Sir," Evan returned.


	23. December 23rd

**December 23****rd**

After just a day in the infirmary Evan was bored. He'd asked Jennifer for his computer, thinking he could catch up on a few administrative tasks, but she'd scoffed before telling him very firmly, no. She knew him too well, enough to anticipate that he'd get absorbed and take it too far. It rankled to admit that he needed so much sleep. He'd be awake for an hour and then start yawning, ready for another nap. Sure, he'd put his body through a lot, he knew it would take time, but that didn't stop him from feeling the impatience to be done with this early phase of recovery.

"You can have a book," Jennifer offered, "or your sketch pad. That's it – and even then you have to promise to rest every hour or so."

"Fine," Evan knew better than to dig his heels in. He was at a disadvantage and she wasn't above making him feel it, all driven by love and concern of course.

"I'll go and get you something during my break," she promised.

When she returned she had not only a book and his sketch stuff, but the day's advent message too. "We might as well read this one now," she said, smiling. This time she read the message aloud, her voice soft and low enough that only he could hear.

"_My Mom loves you too … she'd be proud to be a Mom to you, not to replace your own but just because every girl needs motherly advice sometimes (or so my Mom tells me). You'll get a sister too – admittedly she'd a bit of a pain but she comes with a husband who's pretty cool and two very cute nephews who could be yours too. Who could say No to that?"_

"Can I give you my answer now?" she asked, clutching the paper to her chest as she looked at him.

"One more day," he insisted. Maybe it was little more than a formality now but one they'd both gone through a lot to continue.

"Fine," she said irritably, smoothing out the message and reading it again. "It's a good one," she admitted, tracing a finger over the words.

"I thought so," he shrugged. "Elaine can't wait to get that email telling her we're tying the knot. She's been after me about it since the first day you two met."

"I like your sister," Jennifer said. "And you don't only tolerate her like you pretend. She knows that you love her."

"The sibling roles have to be maintained," he joked. "Otherwise the entire order of the universe could be under threat."

"Oh!" Jennifer straightened. "I forgot …. wait here." She jumped up, hurrying to her office and quickly returning with a couple of envelopes. "Letters from home," she said simply. "They were delivered when the Daedalus first arrived. I've already read the letter from my Dad but I kept these safe for when you were back."

Evan took them, looking at the handwriting before opening the one from his sister first.

"_Dear Evan,_

_Mom let us know that you won't be able to make it home for Christmas. I know the decision isn't yours but still I can't help being disappointed. It seems like forever since we had a true family Christmas. Maybe next year you'll be able to get leave … you __and__ Jennifer. She needs to see our family traditions first hand. I know you haven't said anything about when you two will get married but you can't fool your sister – I know it's what you want and I'm sure it'll be soon. Just promise me you won't run off and elope before telling me. I want to be there!_

_The boys are doing well. Jon misses you but he loves the monthly video you do just for him. Tell Jennifer he giggled for days over that joke she told last time. Matt's verbal skills are really starting to develop now – its every second word clearly understandable now, instead of every third or fourth. I'll record something for you from both of them next time, okay. I've included a drawing from each of them – I think you'll be impressed._

_Stay safe … can't wait to hear from you soon._

_Love Elaine._"

"Jon loved that joke," Evan shared as he looked at both drawings. They were the works of children but clearly ones who'd had some instruction – probably from their grandmother. Evan smiled, handing Jenn the letter and pictures so she could see for herself.

"Oh, I wish I could have seen that," Jennifer said wistfully when she got to the part about Jon's giggles. She continued to read the letter while he opened the second one, from his Mom.

"_Dear Evan,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I know you said I could just email but the act of sitting down with a blank page and actually writing something is more satisfying. It brings back memories too – of when your father was overseas. I used to write to him every day – he'd come home with a such a stack of envelopes, tied neatly together. I don't think he threw any of them away, even the silly ones._

_I know you can't come home for the holidays this year so I've included a few gifts for you and Jennifer. I spoke to a very nice lady at your base in Colorado and she assured me they'd be delivered to you before Christmas day. It's not the same as you being here but still – it will be nice to imagine you and Jennifer opening them together on Christmas morning. I received the packages you sent for Elaine's family – and hid them away as instructed. Don't think I didn't notice there was more than one with my name on it too. I told you not to spend your money on me … of course I knew you wouldn't listen! I don't know how you found time where you are – but thank you. Having something personal from you will make the absence just a little bit easier to bear._

_Pass on my love to Jennifer and my wishes for you to have a wonderful Christmas together. The best gift will be seeing you both back home again soon._

_Look after yourself and Jennifer too._

_Love Mom._"

"We have gifts," he grinned, handing Jennifer the second letter too. "I guess they're still in storage along with the rest of the deliveries from the Daedalus."

"By now they would be," Jennifer laughed. "Colonel Caldwell didn't take the time to unload beyond the essentials before we left to come after you. Whatever your Mom sent has been to Olessia and back as well as travelling all the way from Earth."

"She'd get a kick out of that," Evan pushed back the familiar feeling of remorse that he couldn't tell his family what he and Jennifer really did every day.

"I can't believe it's Christmas Eve tomorrow," Jennifer said once she'd finished reading Grace's letter.

"It's seemed like a long time coming," Evan agreed. The days on Olessa had dragged, skewing his perception of how much time had passed. "So Doc," he took her hand and tugged to bring her closer. "What's a guy got to do to get a pass out of here – just for one night?"

"I don't know – what do you have to offer?" Jennifer said seductively.

"Not as much as I'd like," Evan admitted ruefully, running his thumb over the top of her hand as he regarded her intently. "My Doctor has me on a short leash. Maybe if we appealed to her romantic side she'd let me escort you to the party tomorrow night."

"Would you promise to return as soon as she said?" Jennifer quizzed.

"Of course, especially if she agreed to come back here to keep me company," Evan replied.

"And will you do what she says during the party too – there and back in a wheel chair, no alcohol, and nothing strenuous?"

"I can do that," Evan promised, mentally screwing his nose up at the mention of wheel chairs.

"Then assuming your checks for the rest of the day and tomorrow continue to be as positive as they have been so far, I think we can arrange that." Evan was recovering faster than she'd hoped for and already she was revising just how long he'd have to stay in the infirmary. He was still weak though, and got tired easily – the last thing he needed was to push himself too hard.

"Great," Evan grinned, tugging on her hand again until she relented and leaned down to kiss him. "It's a date."

"It's a date," Jennifer repeated with a soft smile.


	24. December 24th

**December 24****th**

Lorne slept most of Christmas Eve day away, right up until it was time to get ready for the Christmas Eve party, hoping that the extra rest would see him last a bit longer than he otherwise might. Because he was still weaker than he'd like to admit, Jennifer had vetoed him dressing for the occasion. She'd relented somewhat in allowing him track pants, t-shirt and his usual overshirt – all easy for the medical staff to help him put on and remove, should the need arise. Since he had to subject himself to the indignity of wheel chair transport to and from the event, what he was wearing was the least of his concerns.

"Ready?" Jennifer walked into the infirmary to pick him up, her dark blue dress swirling around her legs as she moved to his side. Evan was already sitting in the wheelchair, ready for Jenn to help him get to the party.

"Wow," he murmured, the wishes he'd been thinking about being fitter and more able dropping away in the face of her beauty. The dress was fitted for the bodice down to Jenn's waist before the material flared, hugging her hips as it dropped to mid calf. With no sleeves or straps it highlighted shapely shoulders and breast – more than he wanted any other man to notice. His girl was a sight to behold and he couldn't help but feel proud. "You look amazing," he complimented sincerely.

"Why thank you kind Sir," Jennifer smiled. "You're looking surprisingly fit and as handsome as usual."

"When everyone is feeling stifled by their ties and jackets they'll all be envying me," he quipped.

"That's the spirit," she murmured, leaning down to kiss his cheek before she straightened purposefully. "Let's go – the quicker we get there the more time we'll have to enjoy the party before I have to bring you back here."

"I really do feel okay Jenn," Evan reassured her.

"I know, but I don't want you pushing yourself too hard," Jennifer replied. "There's no rush Evan."

"I have no problem spending time in the infirmary when it's by choice," Evan admitted. "After all, my favourite person works there. I just don't like leaving my duty for someone else to take on in my absence."

"I don't think you have to worry there," Jennifer chuckled, moving to stand behind the wheelchair and pushing it forward slowly. "John barely does his own administrative work, let along taking on any of yours. I'm sure it will all be waiting for you when you're fit enough to tackle it."

"You're right," Evan chuckled too, the strain on his injuries not as much as it had been even just the day before. He _was_ getting better – slower than he wanted but he was lucky not to be in much worse shape.

Jennifer kept a steady pace as they made their way down to the Mess Hall, now decorated in Christmas finery. They passed the Atlantis Christmas tree on the way, the tall pine like tree looking like an immense guard watching over the gateroom.

They were a few minutes early and the area was still quiet as they found a table out on the balcony.

"Did you put something on the tree?" Evan asked.

"Of course," Jennifer smiled. "Its traditional now – I put your baubles up for both of us this time – they're too good to leave in a box somewhere."

"I'm glad," Evan let his mind go to Elizabeth for a few moments, to the previous year when the Atlantis Tree first became a part of their Christmas. "Elizabeth would get a kick out of us keeping that tradition."

"She would," Jennifer agreed softly.

"Major, good to see you up and about," Colonel Sheppard stepped out onto the balcony, cutting off their conversation at just the right point.

"Ah, not really up and about Sir," Evan admitted. "I'm under doctor's orders to stay seated," he winked over at Jennifer so she'd know he wasn't complaining.

"In that case let me go get you both a drink," John offered.

"Thank you John," Jennifer replied. "Nothing alcoholic for either of us though."

"Of course," John smirked. "We don't want the Major here to get loopy on us, mixing his meds with the booze – definitely not something you want to see."

"I'm not going to ask how you know that Colonel," Jennifer gave him a pointed look.

"Hey, it wasn't me," John held up his hands in protest. Glancing behind him he all but sagged in relief. "There's Teyla – I'll just go and …," he waved his hand vaguely before making his escape.

"Funny," Evan smirked.

"Do you think he'll remember those drinks?"

"Eventually."

Over the course of the next hour Evan and Jennifer became the centre of a small and constantly shifting circle of visitors. Evan's team parked themselves as permanent fixtures, keeping the conversation and the jokes going to the amusement of everyone. Colonel Sheppard brought Teyla over, the two sharing enough private and secretive looking glances for Evan to wonder if something was going on with them too. Ronon was there too, as was Rodney – both men seeming more mellow and accepting of the Christmas celebration than they'd been the previous year. The gathering was marked by the absences too, everyone raising their glasses when John called for a toast to their fallen colleagues.

Jennifer didn't actively watch Evan's every move, but the first time he yawned she was on to him immediately.

"Getting tired?" she asked quietly.

"A little," he admitted reluctantly.

"Time to go then," Jenn said decisively, standing up. "Sorry folks – I'm going to have to take Major Lorne back to the infirmary now."

"Past your bedtime Sir?" Nate joked., Dan and Jimmy struggling to hold in their answering laughter.

"Don't think I won't remember this when one of you is laid up in the infirmary," Lorne promised, narrowing his eyes at each of this team mates.

"Good night Sir," Nate said more seriously, his words echoed by the others.

"Night boys – behave okay," Evan smirked. "I don't want to hear any stories in the morning featuring any of you."

"Yes Sir," they all straightened, waiting for their team leader to be wheeled away before they relaxed again.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Evan asked once they were out in the corridor, walking away from the mess. "I know it would have been better if we could have moved around a little, danced for a while."

"It was fine," Jennifer insisted, wheeling them into the transporter.

"Wait," Evan stopped her from pressing the location nearest the infirmary. "I still have a little energy left. How about we sit on our balcony for a few minutes?"

"Okay," Jennifer smiled, shifting to press that location instead.

It was a beautiful night, with just warm enough to make sitting outside pleasant. The air was touched by the scent of flowers, carried on the breeze from the mainland.

"This is so nice," Jenn murmured, resting her head on Evan's shoulder as she sat on the bench beside his chair.

"It is," he agreed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He let the silence sit for a while before shifting to bring Jennifer's attention to him. "Twenty four days ago I asked you an important question. I know I made it hard for you insisting you not give me your answer until tonight – I hope when you look back on those days you'll begin to remember them fondly, despite how many of them I wasn't here for. Are you ready to give me that answer now?"

"Not quite," Jennifer smiled when he frowned in confusion. "There's still one message to be read first," she reminded him.

"Oh, of course," he nodded. "Do you have it?"

"Right here," she pulled the scroll from the small bag she carried, unrolling it and reading aloud.

"_We were meant to be. I knew it from the moment I met you. Don't tempt fate – say yes."_

"So what you're saying is that if I don't say yes, something bad could happen?" Jennifer queried, keeping her expression bland.

"Yeah, my heart will be crushed," Evan retorted. "That sounds more than a little bad to me!"

Jennifer laughed. "Then I guess I have to say yes."

"Really?" Evan was suddenly very serious.

"What? Of course yes!" Jennifer frowned. "You didn't really think I'd say no, did you?"

"Not rationally, but when a man asks a woman to marry him, irrational thoughts intrude," Evan shifted uncomfortably, ready to dismiss the topic in favour of celebrating his new status as an engaged man. "So, just to clarify, it's a yes, right?"

"_Yes_," Jennifer returned insistently.

"Then I have something for you," Evan reached into his tracksuit pocket and pulled out a small, familiar sized box. He handed it to Jennifer.

"Wow," Jennifer looked at the box for a moment, contemplating the occasion, before she slowly reached out to open it. The ring nestled inside was made of delicate white gold threads entwined in an intricate pattern that enclosed a number of small gems within it – a diamond, a sapphire, a peridot, a ruby, the colours standing out like wild flowers in a garden of vines. It was one of a kind, and the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen.

"It's perfect," she handed the open box back to Evan. "I want you to put it on."

Lifting the ring from its nest Evan took Jennifer's hand in his and slowly slid the ring into place. "It's just like I imagined," he murmured, a pleased smile playing over his face.

"Wait, you _designed_ this?" Jennifer looked at the ring with sharper interest.

"Yeah," Evan flushed a little. "I went through about a hundred ring catalogues on line but nothing jumped out at me as being right for you. When I saw an ad for custom made jewellery it was almost a relief. It was certainly easier to visit the jeweller and show him what I wanted than it was to wade through all the standard choices."

"Its … amazing," Jennifer held up her hand, admiring her new ring with a gleeful smile. "Thank you Evan … this is so special. I just … I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I'm just glad you like it," Evan relaxed, the final hurdle towards securing his future dealt with. He'd been confident making her a ring was the right choice but part of him had worried she'd prefer something more traditional.

"Let's tell everyone," Jennifer jumped up immediately. Her doctor mode engaged for a moment as she assessed his condition and judged him to still be doing okay out of the infirmary. "You look a bit tired – maybe we should leave it until tomorrow."

"I'm okay," he replied. "Let's do it now. Then we can have Christmas day to ourselves without feeling like we should be sociable."

"Good point," Jennifer grinned, her enthusiasm bubbling over.

Evan was happy to be urged along by her energy. He really was okay – more so than he'd ever been before now that he and Jennifer were truly on the path to living their lives together. They passed the Christmas tree again on their way but this time Evan called for a halt. Side by side he and Jennifer contemplated the special tree, the decorations of an entire city's inhabitants gracing its branches.

"_Thank you Elizabeth_," Evan thought silently, his mind conjuring up the tone of voice and expression she'd greet him with if she were still there to hear his thanks.

"_I think you would have gotten here on your own Major – but you're welcome_."

**The End**


End file.
